KYODO NEWS



 

The Fukuoka High Court on Friday became the third high court in Japan to rule the country's lack of legal recognition of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, but upheld a lower court ruling to dismiss plaintiffs' claim for damages.

In the ruling, the court judged for the first time that civil law provisions not allowing same-sex marriage violated Article 13 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to the pursuit of happiness.

The court also said the ban violates sections of the Constitution that guarantee equality under the law and upholds individual dignity and the essential equality of both sexes.
 
"There is no longer any reason to not legally recognize marriage between same-sex couples," Presiding Judge Takeshi Okada said.
After the ruling, four of the plaintiffs stood outside the court and held up a sign questioning why Japan's parliament has yet to legalize same-sex marriage.
At a press conference, a 35-year-old plaintiff going by the name Kosuke hailed the court's ruling on Article 13, saying it "changes society's atmosphere toward same-sex marriage." He described being unable to stop crying as the judge spoke.

His partner, a 37-year-old referring to himself as Masahiro, said the ruling "understood our suffering, and I felt very reassured."

The ruling contrasted with the decision by the lower court last year saying that the ban is in a "state of unconstitutionality" -- a term seen as a call for the Diet to address the law's inconsistency with the Constitution.

Three same-sex couples from Fukuoka and Kumamoto in southwestern Japan had asked for 1 million yen ($6,540) for each person. They argued that civil law provisions not allowing same-sex marriage violate the right to equality under the Constitution and its guarantee of the freedom of marriage.

The plaintiffs filed an appeal after the Fukuoka District Court in June 2023 dismissed their damages claim and ruled the government was not immediately obliged to enact legislative measures despite being in "state of unconstitutionality."

Japan's civil law and family registration law provisions are based on marriage between a man and a woman and the privileges that result from matrimony, including inheritance rights, tax benefits and joint custody of children, are only granted to heterosexual couples.

Japan remains the only Group of Seven industrialized country that has not legalized same-sex marriage or civil unions, despite growing pressure from the LGBT community and its supporters.

Previous district rulings have varied in scope, with the Sapporo and Nagoya courts saying that the lack of legal recognition of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, and the Tokyo district court ruling it is in a "state of unconstitutionality." The Osaka district court is so far the only one to rule the current law is constitutional.

In the first two high court rulings earlier this year, the Sapporo and Tokyo high courts said the country's lack of legal recognition of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

Every court, however, has dismissed compensation claims.