Japanese high court rules denying same-sex marriage unconstitutional

The court does not have the power to overturn the current marriage law, which has been interpreted to restrict marriage as between a man and a woman.

A lower court issued a similar ruling earlier on Thursday, becoming the sixth district court to do so.

Plaintiffs hold a banner before the ruling on same-sex marriage at the Tokyo District Court in Tokyo, Japan, 14 March 2024. Source: AAP / Jiji Press

But the Tokyo District Court ruling was only a partial victory for Japan’s LGBTQI community calling for equal marriage rights, as it doesn’t change or overturn the current civil union law that describes marriage as between a man and a woman.

Japan is the only member of the Group of Seven nations that still excludes same-sex couples from the right to legally marry and receive spousal benefits.

In the Tokyo ruling, the court said the right to marry, have a family and enjoy advantages marriage brings – such as tax deductions and social security benefits – are guaranteed for everyone, and that lack of the legal right to same-sex couples deprives them of their basic right.

Plaintiffs and others shows a banner in front of Sapporo Hight Court in Sapporo, Hokkaido, northern Japan Thursday, 14 March, 2024. Source: AAP / AP

The Tokyo ruling also acknowledged the right for anyone to live based on their sexuality and sexual identity, and the traditional family values and marriage are changing, and equality of same-sex marriage is increasingly accepted in international and corporate communities.

Nepal began allowing same-sex marriage registration starting in 2023, according to the Marriage for All Japan, a civil group supporting the lawsuits.

The Supreme Court separately ruled that Japan’s law requiring compulsory sterilisation surgery for transgender people to officially change their gender is unconstitutional.