Nintendo Japan has updated its Corporate Social Responsibility Information to recognize same-sex marriage, even though it remains illegal in Japan (H/T Eurogamer).

In a section titled Introduction of a Partnership System, Nintendo writes that since March 2021, employees in domestic partnerships with same-sex partners have had access to the same benefits as employees in cis heterosexual marriages. The system treats common-law marriages the same as legal marriages.

"At Nintendo Co., Ltd. (Japan), we want to create a work environment that supports and empowers each and every one of our unique employees," the company wrote.

"Although same-sex marriages are not currently recognized under Japanese law, this system ensures employees who are in a domestic partnership with a same-sex partner have the same benefits as employees in an opposite-sex marriage."

The company also revised its code of conduct to explicitly prohibit discriminatory comments based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

A Japanese court upheld a ban on same-sex marriage last month in a lawsuit in the Osaka district court, and Japanese law currently holds that transgender people must be surgically sterilized if they want legal recognition of their gender identity. The Human Rights Watch condemned that law in 2019.

This article was originally published on dbltap as Nintendo Japan to Provide Benefits to Same-Sex Marriages Despite Japanese Law.