Japan gay couples seek marriage rights in Valentine’s lawsuit
Chizuka Oe and Yoko Ogawa have been together for 25 years, but when they submitted their marriage registration at a Tokyo town hall, they knew it would be rejected.
“We were told that they cannot accept our registration because we are both women,” said Ogawa, standing in the winter sun outside the building in Nakano in western Tokyo.
The couple is now planning to take action: Along with 12 other same-sex couples, they will file lawsuits on Valentine’s Day seeking to force the government to recognize gay marriage.
“Why don’t we even have the simple choice of whether or not to get married?” asked Ogawa, who said she and Oe were forced to wait a long time before ultimately being turned down.
The five lesbian and eight gay couples involved will file lawsuits across the country seeking damages of 1 million yen ($9,000) a person for being denied the same legal rights as heterosexual couples.
Japan’s constitution stipulates that “marriage shall be only with the mutual consent of both sexes” and the government says this means same-sex marriage is “not foreseen” in the constitution or civil law.
But lawyers for the plaintiffs and other legal experts counter that there is nothing in the constitution that would prohibit same-sex marriage.
They argue the language of the 1947 post-war constitution is only meant to ensure equality between prospective spouses and prevent forced marriages.
The government’s failure to enact a law allowing same-sex marriage violates the constitutional principle that “all people are equal under the law,” said Akiyoshi Miwa, who is representing some of the plaintiffs.
A survey in January found nearly 80 percent of Japanese aged 20 to 59 support legalizing gay marriage.
Historically, Japan was broadly tolerant of homosexuality, with documented cases of samurai warriors during feudal times having male lovers.
Same-sex relationships were even depicted in traditional art, such as ukiyo-e, or woodblock prints. But as Japan industrialized and modernized from the late 19th century, Western prejudices against homosexuality were increasingly adopted.