Ikuo Sato knows he will be in trouble if he becomes infected with COVID-19.

“I’m over 60, I’ve got diabetes, I’m HIV-positive and I’m on artificial dialysis,” says the 61-year-old, who works for a nonprofit organization that supports HIV-positive people in Japan. “I began feeling very uncomfortable when the number of cases in Tokyo started rising, but I still had to go to the office every day because I couldn’t work from home.”

Sato has another reason for wanting to avoid the virus. For the past 16 years, he has lived with his same-sex partner, Yoshi. Sato’s two younger sisters know about the relationship and are understanding, but Yoshi — who spoke on condition that his surname would not be published because he has yet to publicly come out — is estranged from his own family.

Sato knows that, were he to die from COVID-19, his sisters would support Yoshi. Were the same thing to happen to Yoshi, on the other hand, the fact that Japan does not recognize same-sex marriage means Sato probably wouldn’t even be invited to attend his funeral.

“It would be as if we had no relationship at all,” says Sato. “There are people (from his family) who know about me but we’re not in contact. If he has to go to a hospital, I know I won’t be able to see him. If he dies, we won’t be able to meet again and that would be the end. That would be awful.” Read more via Japan Times