Japanese Court Upholds Ban On Same-Sex Marriage

A district court in Osaka has ruled that Japan’s ban on same-sex marriage is not unconstitutional. Japan is the only country in the G7, a group of the world’s largest developed nations, that doesn’t allow same-sex couples to wed.

Japan court rules same-sex marriage ban is not unconstitutional https://t.co/rU4RKf84BA pic.twitter.com/23EwapRNp8

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 20, 2022

Via Reuters:

Japan’s constitution defines marriage as being based on “the mutual consent of both sexes.” But the introduction of partnership rights for same-sex couples in Tokyo last week, along with rising support in opinion polls, had raised the hopes of activists and lawyers for the Osaka case.

The Osaka court said that marriage was defined as being only between opposite genders and not enough debate on same-sex marriage had taken place in Japanese society.

Under current rules in Japan, members of same-sex couples are not allowed to legally marry, cannot inherit each other’s assets – such as a house they may have shared – and also have no parental rights over each other’s children.

Read the full article here. In March 2021, a court in Sapporo ruled Japan’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. Marriage equality is legal in 31 countries, according to Human Rights Campaign.

A district court in Japan has upheld the country’s ban on same-sex marriage. https://t.co/x0r40DNtU2

— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 20, 2022