High court declares the ban unconstitutional
Tokyo, Oct 30 (EFE).- A Japanese high court ruled on Wednesday that the lack of legal recognition of same-sex marriage in the country was unconstitutional.
The Tokyo High Court ruling was issued after the Tokyo District Court determined in 2022 that the ban on same-sex marriage was in a “state of unconstitutionality.”
The term used by the lower court, which stopped short of declaring the ban unconstitutional, is seen as a call to the Diet – the national legislature – to take action on the matter.
The seven plaintiffs, including same-sex couples, had demanded 1 million yen (about $6,490) each from the government in damages, which the Tokyo High Court has denied.
These couples argue that not allowing these unions violates the right to equality enshrined in the Japanese constitution and its guarantee of freedom of marriage.
Constitutional argument for equality and freedom
The plaintiffs appealed after the Tokyo District Court rejected their claim for damages in November 2022 and had urged the high court to clearly declare that not recognizing same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.
The legal battle over gay marriage is being waged based on two articles of Japan’s Magna Carta.
The plaintiffs base their claims on Article 14, which stipulates equality before the law and non-discrimination in political, economic or social relations on the basis of race, creed, sex, social status or family origin.
The government maintains that the constitution does not recognize same-sex marriage and therefore its position remains constitutional, since Article 24 defines marriage “based only on the mutual consent of both sexes,” understanding that it can only be between a man and a woman.
Nearly a dozen first-instance rulings have been issued on the matter between 2021 and 2024, most of them pointing out that this lack of recognition of same-sex unions is unconstitutional or violates the rights enshrined in the Magna Carta.
In the first ruling by a higher court earlier this year, the Sapporo High Court said that the lack of legal recognition of same-sex marriage in the country was unconstitutional, confirming the ruling of a lower court in 2021.
None of the courts have agreed, however, to provide financial compensation to the plaintiffs.
Japan, the only one in the G7 without same-sex marriage
Japan remains the only country in the Group of Seven that has not legalized same-sex marriage or civil unions, despite growing pressure from the LGBT+ community in the Asian country. EFE
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