Japan’s top court will decide Wednesday on the legality of requiring transgender people to be sterilised in order to change their legal gender. Under rules introduced in 2004, transgender people can only change their gender on legal documents if they appeal to a family court and meet criteria including gender confirmation surgery and having no reproductive capacity — generally requiring sterilisation. Other rules include being unmarried, not having children and being officially diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Only a handful of countries around the world allow transgender people to change their status with a simple declaration.