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A Japanese court has ruled that the lack of legal recognition for same-sex marriage violates the constitution, in that country’s first ruling on equal marriage.
The Sapporo district court on the northern island of Hokkaido handed down the decision on Wednesday, according to Kyodo News, in the first of 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 have been violated because equality and marital freedom are enshrined in the constitution, public broadcaster NHK said.
“It simply came to our notice then hope It will be an opportunity to raise awareness that marriage is a right that should be granted to all people equally, ”said Masa Yanagisawa, head of Prime Services Japan at Goldman Sachs, who is also on the group’s board campaign For Marriage.
The Sapporo court rejected the claim for damages by the plaintiffs by the government, but said in its ruling that the lack of access of same-sex couples to some of the rights granted to heterosexual couples amounted to discrimination. , said Kyodo.
It remains to be seen whether the other district court cases result in similar rulings and whether there will be an appeal to a higher court.
Although several local authorities have begun to recognize same-sex relationships, Japan has made little progress toward egalitarian marriage compared to Western countries. This can leave couples without basic rights, such as the ability to visit a couple To the hospital.
In Asia, only Taiwan has so far recognized same-sex marriage, although Thailand could make the change as early as this year.
A long way to go
Asia lags far behind Europe and the Americas in terms of marital equality
Source: The Human Rights Campaign Foundation
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told parliament last month that the constitution, unchanged since 1947, did not provide for the recognition of same-sex marriage. The issue “refers to the foundations of the family in this country and should be considered with great caution,” he said.
A more modest bill to promote the understanding of LGBTQ people drafted by a ruling legislator from the Liberal Democratic Party has yet to move toward becoming law.
(Updates with details on the resolution of the fourth paragraph)