In Japan, a second high court ruled that the government’s policy against marriage equality/same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.
According to the Tokyo High Court, the ongoing ban is “a groundless legal discrimination based on sexual orientation”, and so it “violates the constitutional guarantee of right to equality, as well as individuals’ dignity and equality between sexes. It was a clearer statement than the 2022 lower court decision that described the situation as “an unconstitutional state.”
Writing the court decsion, presiding Judge Sonoe Taniguchi stated that marriages are not done solely to produce offsprings, but also to ensure stable legal status for the partners. There is, therefore, no rational justification to exclude same-sex couples, particularly since there exists a shared international consensus against discriminating based on sexual orientation.
Earlier, in March, the Sapporo High Court ruled that not allowing same-sex couples to marry and enjoy the same benefits as straight couples is a violation of their fundamental right to equality and freedom of marriage.
The Tokyo ruling is now the seventh such decision made by a Japanese court, with only one district court claiming that LGBTQIA discrimination is constitutional. All the rulings can be appealed to the Supreme Court.
To date, Japan is the only member of the Group of Seven industrialized countries that does not recognize marriage equality, or provide legally binding protection for LGBTQIA couples. Various municipalities issued partnership certificates, but this still does not provide the same legal benefit as heterosexual couples.
