A man who was outed as gay at work and developed a mental illness has become eligible for workers' compensation in what is likely the first case of its kind in Japan.

The man in his 20s and his support group held a news conference on Monday to disclose details of the case.

He joined an insurance agency in Tokyo in 2019. He told his employer that he was living with a same-sex partner, and asked that this be shared only among regular employees who needed to know his emergency contact information.

But about a month later, his boss divulged his sexual orientation to a part-time worker without his consent.

The boss reportedly claimed to have done so on his behalf and said it won't make any difference if one more person knows he is gay.

The man lost trust in his boss and relations between the two deteriorated. He later developed a mental illness and quit the job two years later.

The labor standards office determined in March last year that his illness was caused by outing as a form of power harassment, and he is eligible for workers' compensation.

The support group says this is likely the first case in Japan where an illness caused by outing has been recognized as work-related.

The insurance agency has apologized to the man, paid settlement money and promised to educate employees to prevent a recurrence.

The man said that if he had remained silent, it would have meant that he had tolerated human rights abuse.

He hailed the labor standards office's decision as a major step forward, and called for outing victims not to keep their trouble to themselves but to seek outside help.

Some local governments in Japan have introduced ordinances that ban disclosing people's sexual orientation and gender identity without consent.

Kunitachi City in Tokyo became the first to enact such an ordinance five years ago, after a graduate student at Hitotsubashi University in the city fell to his death after he was outed as gay.

Tokyo's Toshima Ward followed suit four years ago.

Saitama and Mie prefectures have similar ordinances.