Same-sex marriage is not legally recognised in Japan but the government has gradually expanded rights protections for its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens in recent years.

The Taiwanese man, now in his 40s, has lived in the country for about 25 years with his Japanese partner, now in his 50s, according to national broadcaster NHK.

He was arrested in 2016 for overstaying a three-month visa from the early 1990s and was ordered to be deported, the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper reported.

But he appealed the government’s order, claiming that a special residency permit would have been issued to heterosexual couples in similar situations.

Tokyo cancelled its deportation order this month and issued the special residency permit to the Taiwanese man, NHK reported.

“If we could have married legally, our lives could have changed,” he told local media Friday, according to the Tokyo Shimbun.

His Japanese partner said: “Our lives and future seemed grey. Now I wish that two of us will live with more positive attitude and a sense of gratitude to make the colour of our lives a bit brighter.”

In recent years, Japan’s LGBT population has campaigned for greater recognition from the government.

In February, 13 same-sex couples filed suits, accusing the Tokyo of discrimination for failing to recognise their unions.

They argue that they are being denied rights accorded to heterosexual couples and hope courts will declare the government’s position unconstitutional.

On Saturday, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces announced the end of the proto-state that the Sunni Arab extremist group declared across large parts of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in 2014.

The Kurds have largely stayed out of Syria’s eight-year civil war, instead building their own institutions in a third of the country under their control.

But a planned US military pullout has left them exposed to an attack by Turkey and in need of protection from Damascus, in a massive blow to their dreams of self-rule.

“The Kurds have been caught between a Syrian rock and a Turkish hard place,” Syria expert Fabrice Balanche said.

Kurdish fighters have spearheaded the fight against IS since late 2014, but neighbouring Turkey views them as “terrorists”.

The presence of American troops in areas held by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had acted as a shield against any Turkish offensive.

But US President Donald Trump in December shocked Washington’s allies by announcing a full withdrawal of all 2,000 US troops from Syria as IS had been “beaten”.

“The Kurds are facing an uncertain future. The most urgent threat appears to be from Turkey,” analyst Mutlu Civiroglu said.

After his announcement, Trump attempted to ease tensions by speaking of a 30-kilometre (18-mile) “safe zone” on the Syrian side of the border.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said his country would establish the “security zone” itself if it took too long to implement.

– ‘Recognition?’ –

The Kurds have rejected any Turkish implementation, especially since any such buffer would include their major cities.

They are demanding instead the deployment of an international observer force.

“Kobane, Tal Abyad, Darbasiya, Qamishli, Dehik, Derbassiye — most of the Kurdish cities are on the border line,” Civiroglu said.

Turkey and its Syrian rebel proxies have led two previous offensives inside Syria, most recently seizing the northwestern enclave of Afrin from the Kurds last year.

Syria’s civil war has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.

It has since spiralled into a complex conflict, with rebel backer Turkey and regime ally Russia emerging as key powerbrokers.

Beyond American approval, Civiroglu said Turkey would likely need a green light from Russia before any Turkish offensive in Syria.

“Russia’s position is going to be very important, because Russia has a strong power over Turkey,” he said.

President Bashar al-Assad’s regime now controls two-thirds of Syria thanks to Russian military backing since 2015, and its seems determined to also return to oil-rich northeastern Syria.

To protect themselves, the Kurds have dispatched delegations to Washington and Moscow.

And in ongoing talks, they have scrambled to mend ties with Damascus.

After decades of marginalisation, the Kurds have developed their own political system in northeast Syria — holding elections, collecting taxes and running schools teaching the Kurdish language.

“In a war-torn country, the Kurdish system is working fine,” Civiroglu said.

“The Kurds want this to be recognised.”

They want “Kurdish education to be offered officially”, he said, after decades of an effective ban on their mother tongue.

‘Carved up?’

But talks so far have failed to bear fruit, and Balanche warns the Kurds are in a weak position.

“The regime is demanding an unconditional surrender. Damascus does not want to let them retain any autonomy,” he said.

Syrian Defence Minister Ali Abdullah Ayoub said Monday that the government would recapture all areas held by the SDF “in one of two ways: a reconciliation agreement or… by force”.

Although the end of the IS “caliphate” has been declared, IS is still present in eastern Syria’s vast Badia desert.

The US Defence Department has warned that without sustained pressure on the jihadists, they could resurge in Syria within months.

In the end, the future of the Kurds mainly depends on the United States, says analyst Nicholas Heras of the Center for a New American Security.

“Every other actor in Syria cannot make a move until there is greater clarity on what the United States ultimately decides to do,” he said.

And after any troop pullout, the United States could still stay on with a paramilitary force, he added.

“The best hope for the SDF is for the Americans and the coalition to stick it out in Syria for the long haul.”

The White House has said that around 200 American “peace-keeping” soldiers would remain in northern Syria indefinitely.

Acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan said he would be discussing with NATO partners the potential to establish an “observer force” in the area.

Footage broadcast on a Catholic television station and picked up by the top-rated CTV network showed a man in jeans, parka and white baseball cap approach Claude Grou at St Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal, in front of 60 horrified parishioners.

He is seen chasing the priest around the altar and standing menacingly over the 77-year-old as he falls to the ground, scattering candles and a banner, before stabbing his victim.

Witness Adele Plamondon told public broadcaster Radio-Canada the priest — who escaped with minor injuries — was about to start reading the gospel, when “this man drew a knife and ran up to stab him.”

“I’d thought he was just going to kneel in front of the altar to pray, like many people do,” she said.

The suspect remained silent during the assault but appeared “very determined,” Plamondon added.

Grou recovered enough to get to his feet and is seen backing away as security officers surround the assailant, who drops his knife. Three guards restrained him while others tended to Grou, who appeared to be in shock.

The priest was taken to hospital, where his condition was said to be stable, with police reporting to AFP that he had been “slightly wounded in the upper body.”

– ‘Horrible and inexcusable’ –

The church was cordoned off, but services resumed later in the day.

The 26-year-old suspect, whose name was not released, was scheduled to appear in court on Saturday via videolink from a detention facility.

Police did not reveal a motive for the attack, but spokeswoman Caroline Chevrefils told AFP he is “known to police.”

“This was an isolated attack, and there is nothing to link it to terrorism,” she added.

Church spokeswoman Celine Barbeau said Grou was conscious when he was rushed from the scene.

“We are hopeful he will pull through,” she added.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke out to condemn the “horrible attack” while mayor Valerie Plante called the assault an “inexcusable act that has no place in Montreal.”

“We are all in shock over this act of violence in a place dedicated to peace,” Montreal archbishop Christian Lepine said in a statement, lamenting that places of worship could be targets of violence.

Saint Joseph’s Oratory, built from 1920 to 1955, sits atop the north face of Mount Royal overlooking Canada’s second-largest metropolis, and attracts some two million pilgrims and tourists each year.

The national shrine was founded by Brother Andre Bessette, a central religious figure among French-Canadians, who was canonized by Pope Benedict in 2010 for his devotion to the sick and disabled.

Jean-Francois Lefebvre, who was working in front of the oratory when the attack unfolded, said he saw police arrive and take away the suspect in handcuffs.

“I find this incident very unfortunate, in a place so peaceful, that attracts millions of visitors,” he told AFP.

“With what happened in Christchurch, it seems that all places of worship are being targeted,” he added, referencing an attack at two mosques in New Zealand last Friday that left 50 dead and 50 wounded.

In 2017, a shooter also gunned down six worshippers at a mosque in Quebec City.