Gemma Hickey entered Japan this week with something no Japanese national can obtain ¡ª a gender-neutral passport in which the gender category shows neither female nor male, but an ¡°X.¡±
The 42-year-old Canadian, who became one of the first in the country to receive such a passport, made their first visit to Japan with the passport on Monday to screen the documentary ¡°Just be Gemma,¡± which tells the story of Hickey¡¯s gender transition.
¡°I¡¯m here in solidarity with the activists from Japan,¡± said Hickey during a media briefing session held at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo on Wednesday, in a show of support for the 13 LGBT couples who filed lawsuits against the Japanese government on Thursday seeking damages for not allowing them to marry. ¡°I hope that sharing my experiences and challenges will build on good works that activists in Japan are doing.¡±
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