Shunkoin Temple In Kyoto Helps Japan's Same-Sex Couples Tie The Knot

[hrmjustin]

The Huffington Post | By Carol Kuruvilla

A Buddhist temple in Japan is offering LGBT couples a place to have symbolic wedding ceremonies -- even though gay marriage is still illegal in the country.

Japan allows same-sex marriage ceremonies within its borders, according to the Council On Foreign Relations, but these couples won't be given the legal rights and privileges that heterosexual couples have. Despite these restrictions, deputy head priest Rev. Takafumi Kawakami claims five couples have come the Shunkoin Temple in Kyoto since 2010 to symbolically tie the knot.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/12/japan-shunkoin-temple-lgbt-wedding_n_6308052.html?utm_hp_ref=religion