TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Taiwanese-Japanese same-sex couple will file an appeal against the rejection of their marriage application by the Ministry of Interior’s Household Registration Office, reports said Wednesday (Feb. 23).

In May 2019, Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, but the law did not go as far as allowing unions involving citizens from countries where gay marriages were illegal. Nevertheless, at least three transnational couples won lawsuits against the Household Registration Office, allowing them to register their weddings.

In the latest case, a Taiwanese man known as Ah-Shu (阿樹) and Japanese citizen Ariyoshi Hidesaburo traveled from Pingtung County up to Taipei City’s Daan District in May last year, the day after a couple from Taiwan and Macau won a complete legal victory, CNA reported. Yet, their hopes for their six-year relationship to result in a marriage registration were dashed when the Ministry of Interior told the Household Registration Office to reject their case.

After having discussed their predicament with their attorneys, the couple had decided to file an administrative appeal in order to add to the mounting pressure to allow gays from different countries to marry each other, the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights (TAPCPR) said.