JAPAN OFFICIALLY REGISTERED ITS FIRST SAME SEX COUPLE

First same sex marriage has been officially registered in Japan marriage Registry between two female,Koyuki Higashi and Hiroko Matsuhara, who happen to be the first lesbians to legally obtain a marriage certificate in Shibuya, Japan.
When the two women appear, smiling and holding hands, camera clicks and flashes follow them as they go inside, where cameras are not allowed.

Higashi, a Japanese model and television personality turned LGBT activist, wears a dress and heels.
Her partner of four years and fellow activist, Hiroko Matsuhara wears a colorful scarf and dark suit. Both hold hands and smile as they enter the ward office at 8:22 a.m. and leave exactly 20 minutes later carrying Japan's first-ever certificate recognizing a same sex union.
Applicants must be at least 20 and fill out a notarized document promising to protect each other and live >together with trust and love. The certificate has an official stamp. But businesses, hospitals, landlords, and other entities are not legally bound to acknowledge it.
Furthermore, this kind of certificate is only available for residents in two of Tokyo's 23 wards -- and nowhere else in Japan. Mostly symbolic, the certificate is supposed to encourage businesses to grant rights equivalent to marriage.