TOKYO: A Japanese court ruled for the first time that the country’s constitution gives same-sex couples the right to enjoy the legal benefits of marriage, a groundbreaking decision in a region of the world that generally prohibits same-sex marriage.
The district court in the northern city of Sapporo was ruling a case filed by gay couples seeking a marriage license. The group of three judges said the government’s refusal to grant them a license violated the Japanese constitution’s guarantee of equal treatment under the law. However, the court held that the plaintiffs were not entitled to damages.
Other district courts in Japan are hearing similar cases and Wednesday’s ruling is subject to appeal, meaning the final ruling on the matter will not be reached in a while.
The group of three judges said that while the Japanese parliament had ample room for maneuver in drafting marriage laws, it “has exceeded the limits of discretion” through its discriminatory treatment of same-sex couples. sex. He said the current law was based on discredited notions of homosexuality as a disease.
The court left open the possibility for Parliament to create a separate system of same-sex marriage or union. He said that if this system provided legal protection to same-sex couples, as does the current marriage system for heterosexual couples, it can go through constitutionality.