Japan same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional
TOKYO – Two more rulings in Japanese district courts have added weight to the push for same-sex marriage to be legalized.
Japan’s constitution currently defines marriage as one between “both sexes”.
This week, courts in Tokyo and Sapporo ruled the nation’s current ban was “unconstitutional”, in line with previous landmark verdicts.
The rulings in separate cases found that the ban breached citizens’ rights.
Even as they welcomed the verdicts, activists warned that the historic step of legalizing same-sex unions would still need to come from lawmakers.
Currently, Japan remains the only G7 country not to fully recognize same-sex couples or offer them clear legal protection. But it is not an outlier in Asia, where Taiwan is the only place to allow same-sex unions.
While several municipalities and prefectures in Japan issue same-sex partnership certificates, which provide some benefits, they do not offer equal legal recognition.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government has come under increased pressure on the issue in recent years as public support has grown significantly. Polls show up to 70% of the population supports same-sex unions.
But Kishida has struggled to pass reforms in his own party in the face of fierce opposition from traditional leadership.
His government is yet to disclose any plans to change or review marriage legislation. But i t has passed a l aw criminalizing discrimination on the basis of sexuality - but this has been criticized by LGBT+ activists for stopping well short of recognizing marriage equality.
On Thursday, a Sapporo court ruling said i t was “strongly expected” that parliament would at some point “institutionalize an appropriate same- sex marriage law”, noting the broad public support.
The court also found that: “Living in accordance with one’s gender identity and sexual orientation is an inalienable right rooted in important person interests.”
At l east half a dozen legal cases challenging the marriage ban have been waged since 2019. In 2021, the Sapporo court made a landmark ruling declaring the ban unconstitutional.
The cases have been closely watched in a country still largely bound by traditional gender roles and family values.