Tokyo Court Rules Japan's Same-Sex Marriage Ban Not Unconstitutional

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

53% : Earlier this month, the Tokyo metropolitan government began issuing partnership certificates to same-sex couples, which allow same-sex couples that live, work or study in the Tokyo area to benefit from some rights and welfare programs that opposite-sex couples are eligible for, like being able to visit their partner in the hospital and living in public housing together.
49% : More than a dozen same-sex couples filed lawsuits at district courts on Valentine's Day in 2019 in a push to advance marriage equality in Japan.
49% : The Tokyo court's ruling was in line with a June ruling from a court in Osaka, which said that freedom of marriage in the constitution referred only to male-female unions, and that the country's ban on same-sex marriage was therefore constitutional.
46% : Although support has grown for LGBTQ rights in recent years, especially among younger Japanese people, many of the country's ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers are deeply conservative and have balked at recent pushes to advance LGBTQ equality.
43% : The partnership certificates are not legally binding, and don't give same-sex couples the right to things like joint custody of children or spousal tax deductions.
41% : That followed a ruling the other way in March last year by the Sapporo District Court, which said Japan's definition of marriage, which excludes same-sex couples, violated constitutional guarantees of equality.
38% : The Tokyo District Court said on Wednesday that Japan's ban on same-sex marriage is not unconstitutional, local media reported.
35% : Load Error Wednesday's case, which involved eight people who said Japan's same-sex marriage ban contravenes the country's constitution and who were seeking damages of about $7,000 each, is the third in a series of rulings that are expected over the coming months.
34% : The Tokyo court's ruling, according to Reuters, noted that the absence of any legal system for same-sex couples to have families was an infringement of their human rights.
27% : © Kazuhiro Nogi -- AFP/Getty Images Plaintiffs and their supporters head to the Tokyo District Court on November 30, 2022, for the ruling on a lawsuit filed by same-sex couples seeking damages from the government arguing the ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

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