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A Japanese court ruled that the lack of legal recognition for same-sex marriage violates the constitution, in the country’s first trial on equality in marriage.
The Sapporo District Court on Hokkaido Island in the north issued the ruling on Wednesday, Kyodo News said, in the first in a series of similar damages lawsuits filed by same-sex couples in five courts across the country. . The three couples involved in Wednesday’s case said their rights were violated because equality and freedom of marriage are enshrined in the constitution, public broadcaster NHK said.
“This is a historic decision and I have hope it will be an opportunity to raise awareness that marriage is a right that should be granted to everyone equally, ”said Masa Yanagisawa, head of Prime Services Japan at Goldman Sachs, who is also on the board of the Marriage For campaign group All.
The Sapporo court rejected the plaintiffs ‘claim for damages from the government, but said in its ruling that same-sex couples’ lack of access to some of the rights granted to heterosexual couples represented discrimination, Kyodo said.
It remains to be seen whether the other district court cases will result in similar decisions and whether there will be an appeal to a higher court.
Although several local officials have begun to recognize same-sex partnerships, Japan has made little progress on equal marriage compared to Western countries. This can leave couples without basic rights, such as the possibility of visiting a partner at the hospital.
In Asia, only Taiwan recognized same-sex marriage, although Thailand could make the change later this year.
A Long Way Ahead
Asia is far behind Europe and the Americas in equal marriage
Source: The Human Rights Campaign Foundation
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told parliament last month that the constitution, unchanged since 1947, did not provide for recognition of marriage between two people of the same sex. The issue “concerns the foundations of the family in this country and should be considered with extreme caution,” he said.
A more modest bill to promote understanding of LGBTQ people, drawn up by a ruling legislator from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, has yet to make progress towards becoming law.
(Updates with details on the decision in the fourth paragraph)