This Week in Human Rights News

Japanese court finds same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional

Sources: Japan Times, Reuters, Human Rights Watch

• In a landmark ruling, a Sapporo court has found the ban on same-sex marriages in Japan to be unconstitutional. 

• This is the first judicial ruling on marriage equality in Japan and is a major symbolic victory for LGBTQ activists.

The lawsuit and ruling

• Judge Tomoko Takebe agreed with the plaintiffs’ claim that the Japanese government was violating Article 14 of the Constitution which ensures the right to equality, describing the lack of legal measures offering even a degree of marital benefits to same-sex couples as “discriminatory treatment without a rational basis”.

• Judge Takebe rejected the demand for damages to the six plaintiffs’ demand that the Japanese government pay 1 million yen (approximately $9,200) each for the pain they had suffered by not being able to legally marry.

• The lawsuit also revolved around the interpretation of marriage in Article 24 of the Japanese constitution, which states that “Marriage shall be based only on the mutual consent of both sexes and it shall be maintained through mutual cooperation with equal rights of husband and wife as a basis.”

What does this mean for LGBTQ+ equality in Japan?

• A new law will still be required for same-sex marriages to actually take place, and some say this may take some time in conservative Japan. 

• However, public support for LGBTQ+ equality has increased in Japan in recent years. A 2020 national survey found that nearly 80% supported same-sex marriage rights.

• This historic ruling is likely to affect the rulings on similar cases being heard in four other courts around Japan.

• Under the current rules in Japan, same-sex couples are not allowed to legally marry, can’t inherit their partner’s assets - such as the house they may have shared - and also have no parental rights over their partners’ children.

• Some municipalities have created certificates recognising same-sex relationships, but these remain unofficial and not legally binding.

• Taiwan became the first place in Asia to legalise same-sex marriages in 2019.

• While homosexual sex has been legal in Japan since 1880, social stigma means many have yet to come out even to their families.

• The Japanese ruling also came just days after the Vatican said priests cannot bless same-sex unions.