It is unconstitutional to ban equal marriage in Japan

Japan is the only G7 country that does not recognize same-sex marriage

GAYLES.TV.- A Japanese court ruled last Wednesday that failure to recognize the right to same-sex marriage violates the Constitution from the country. The sentence, handed down by the Sapporo District Court, is the first in a series of lawsuits for damages brought by same-sex couples across Japan.

And it is that the Japanese country is the only one G7 that does not recognize equal marriage. Taiwán is the only region of Asia recognizing same-sex marriage. This historic ruling is the first in the framework of a series of lawsuits against the STATUS Japanese that a dozen homosexual couples undertook in 2019 so that their unions are legally recognized.

The court of the northern island of Hokkaido, when resolving a lawsuit filed by three same-sex couples, rejected their request for one million yen (about 7.700 euros) each for the psychological damage caused by what they described as the negligence of the Government by not modifying the law to allow them to marry.

Historical judgment

Couples of Hokkaido They had tried to register as married couples with local authorities in January 2019, however, they were denied this right on the grounds that same-sex marriage has no legal status. However, in Japan little progress has been made on marriage equality, as many point to the article 24 of the Constitution of the country, which reads «the marriage will be based solely on the mutual consent of both sexes and will be maintained through mutual cooperation with the equal rights of husband and wife as the basis«.

The sentence does not change the law, but reopens the debate and charges the supporters of its legalization with arguments. According to Sapporo District Court, in the north of the country, the rejection of marriage between persons of the same sex constitutes “discriminatory treatment without a rational basis"Contrary to article 14 of the Japanese Constitution, which stipulates that"all citizens are equal before the law".