Gay couple Masahiro and Kosuke, whose first names are omitted for anonymity, dreamed of buying a small house together in the Japanese city of Fukuoka. Under Japanese law, however, they cannot get married and they found it impossible to get a joint mortgage as two legally single men. Luckily a close friend in real estate bent the rules and granted them a loan in Kosuke’s name.

Last month, the pair sued the government to allow them to legally marry. They joined 12 other couples launching cases in district courts across the country as part of the greatest attempt at marriage equality in Japanese history. Japan’s bid, led by activist group Marriage for All Japan, is inspired and guided by Taiwan’s landmark win to recognize same-sex marriage in May this year.

But to become the second country in Asia to legalize same-sex unions, Japan's more closeted LGBT community, who are inexperienced at activism, must battle a conservative, anti-LGBT government and a court system known to rule in line with the current politics.

Like most places in Asia, Japan’s failure to legally recognize same-sex couples denies them access to government housing, mortgages, inheritance, adoption, tax deductions, and other benefits. But Masahiro cited Taiwan as the pair’s hope and inspiration. When they took a trip to Taipei earlier this year, they were amazed to see gay and lesbian couples proudly holding hands on the streets.

“[LGBT couples] became so bold and open,” explained Masahiro. Two months after the trip, they launched their court challenge.

One of the 30 lawyers working on the marriage equality cases across four district courts, Takeharu Kato, told The News Lens their court argument is very similar to that of Taiwanese activist Chi Chia-wei’s petition, which paved the way for same-sex marriage legalization in Taiwan. Read more via The News Lens