A Japanese life insurer is expanding its coverage specifically with same-sex couples in mind, the latest example of growing recognition and acceptance in Japan.

Starting Wednesday, Lifenet Insurance Co. allows a policy holder to designate a same-sex partner to receive proceeds after the insured dies. Most life insurers in Japan require the insured to designate a legal spouse or close blood relative as beneficiary. Lifenet is the first insurer in Japan that has explicitly expanded its coverage to target same-sex couples.

“I hope that by having this system, there will be more acceptance of people with non-traditional families as equals by society,” Lifenet's president, Daisuke Iwase, told reporters Wednesday. Lifenet said it has already received queries and applications from customers since announcing the change at the end of October. Applicants will have to submit paperwork to certify their relationship. Japan’s constitution is generally interpreted as recognizing only heterosexual marriages, but companies and local governments are introducing programs aimed at same-sex couples. Tokyo’s Shibuya ward will start issuing same-sex partnership certificates Thursday, a first for a local government. Mobile carriers NTT Docomo Inc. and KDDI Corp. have said they will expand family discounts to same-sex couples who have the certificates. Advocates of same-sex couples say that clarifying insurance rules is an important step forward, as many Japanese hold life insurance. According to a survey released in September by the Japan Institute of Life Insurance, 89% of households had life insurance plans. Lifenet Insurance was founded in 2008 as an Internet-based life insurance company. It was the first life insurer in 74 years to be founded independent of a parent company in Japan.

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