Japanese court rules gay marriage ban is unconstitutional
Japan is still the only G7 country not to fully recognise same-sex unions.
After months of legal back and forth, a Japanese court has finally ruled against the gay marriage ban.
On Tuesday (30 May), the Nagoya District Court declared Japan’s banning of gay marriage unconstitutional.
This is the second time a Japanese court has ruled the ban unconstitutional. This renews the pressure on Japan to withdraw gay marriage bans.
This is especially the case as it is the only G7 country not to fully recognise same-sex unions. There is also pressure to legalise gay marriage from the government’s main opposition, the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP)
Additionally, more than a dozen couples have filed cases in district courts across Japan also calling the marriage ban unconstitutional.
Lead lawyer on the case, Yoko Mizushima, after the ruling shared: “This has rescued us from the hurt of last year’s ruling that said there was nothing wrong with the ban, and the hurt [caused by] what the government keeps saying.”
Mizushima’s comment referred to a case in Osaka last June that ruled the ban on gay marriage does not violate the constitution.
Currently, LGBTQ couples can only have civil unions in certain regions. These unions, however, don’t allow partners to inherit assets or adopt children.
“This has rescued us from the hurt of last year’s ruling that said there was nothing wrong with the ban”
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has faced increasing scrutiny over LGBTQ protections in the country.
Kishida recently drew criticism for claiming that not recognising gay marriage “isn’t unfair discrimination by the state”.
In response, Chinami Nishimura of the CDP stated: “I think it’s discrimination if marriage is recognised legally for heterosexual couples but not same-sex couples.”
Kishida has also said gay marriage would “change society”, so lawmakers must be “extremely careful in considering the matter”.
Additionally, one of Kishida’s aides reportedly made discriminatory comments, including that he “doesn’t even want to look at” married LGBTQ couples.
Kishida subsequently fired the aide. He also called the remarks “outrageous.”
A recent poll has also shown that two-thirds of people in Japan support same-sex marriage.