In Japan, two more decisions by district courts have made the case for same-sex marriage even stronger.
IN SHORT
Japan’s High Court Rulings on Same-Sex Marriage
- Japan’s high court found the ban on same-sex marriages illegal, leading to government action.
- The rulings have sparked a group called Marriage For All Japan, which urges the Diet to revise the law to recognize same-sex marriages.
- Japan is the only G7 country that doesn’t legally protect same-sex relationships.
- The ruling is the first of its kind by an appeals court on a matter that has caused disagreement in lower courts.
- The Liberal Democratic Party of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is against the ban, despite 70% of the population supporting it.
- The Sapporo High Court found the limits in the Japanese civil code that only people of opposite sexes can get married “unconstitutional” and “discriminatory.”
- Other courts have dismissed similar cases in 2022 and 2021, stating that the law only allows straight couples to get married.
- Despite the rulings, support for same-gender marriages has grown in Japan, with 72% of people supporting it.
Japan‘s ban on same-sex marriages was found to be illegal by a high court on Thursday. This made the government take action.
Its top spokesman, Yoshimasa Hayashi, told a press meeting that the government will keep an eye on other court decisions that will come out soon on the subject.
March 14, 2019 (Tokyo) The high court in Sapporo, northern Japan, said on Thursday that Japan’s ban on same-sex marriage is against the country’s constitution.
This is the first decision of its kind by an appeals court on a matter that has caused disagreement in the lower courts.Japan is the only country in the Group of Seven that doesn’t protect same-sex relationships legally. The Liberal Democratic Party of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is against them, even though 70% of the people support them.
At a news conference, lawyer Tsunamori Fumiyasu said that the plaintiffs are thinking about asking the Supreme Court to explain why the current law is unconstitutional.
Limits in the Japanese civil code that say only people of opposite sexes can get married were found to be “unconstitutional” and “discriminatory” by the Sapporo High Court. However, the plaintiffs’ claim for damages from the government was denied.”Enacting same-sex marriage does not seem to cause disadvantages or harmful effects,” the judge said.
Lower courts are divided on the same-sex bar issue. One district court says the bar is constitutional, while others say it is unconstitutional in different ways.
A judge in the Tokyo High Court said that the fact that same-sex partners are not legally married is “a deprivation of a key part of their personal identity.”
A group called Marriage For All Japan said this about the rulings: “We once again strongly urge the Diet (Japanese Parliament) to take seriously the harsh criticisms from the judiciary and immediately begin concrete legislative work to revise the law to recognize same-sex marriages.” People in the group also said they were going to hold a protest outside the Japanese Diet building on Friday.
What other courts have done about the Sapporo District Court‘s 2021 decision on same-sex weddings has been mixed. The Osaka district court dismissed a similar case in 2022, and the Nagoya district court ruled that the ban violated the constitution in 2021. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the Japanese government have said that the law only allows straight couples to get married.
Still, support for marriages between people of the same gender has grown in Japan. A poll found that 72% of people supported this. Japan is the only G7 country that does not officially recognize or protect same-sex relationships. Italy also lets people of the same gender get married and gives them the same legal rights as married couples.