What do you think 💭 of this policy in Japan? Should the Japanese people and global activists protest it? Do you think other world powers should step in when a country violates human rights like this?

Tokyo (CNN) Japan has upheld a law effectively requiring trans people seeking to legally change their gender to be sterilized.

Takakito Usui, a transgender man who wants to change the gender listed on his official documents, had appealed to the court seeking to overturn Law 111, which requires applicants to "permanently lack functioning" reproductive parts to qualify for gender affirmation.

"When the law was established 15 years ago, LGBT people had to make a bitter decision and swallow the conditions to pave a narrow way for official change of gender. With this decision, I hope lawmakers will change the law to support the wishes of the LGBT community."

The court initially said the law was intended to prevent "problems" in parent-child relations which could lead to societal "confusion," and avoid "abrupt changes" to society. About 7,000 people have changed their gender registration under the law since it was first passed.

Nine countries across Asia provide no right for people to change their legal gender, according to NQAPIA, a federation of regional LGBT groups, while a number of others have significant hurdles to doing so.