A Chinese high court ruled on Thursday that same-sex organizations are illegal and called for serious government action to address the country’s lack of laws allowing for such organizations. It was viewed as a landmark decision that gave them hope for a future of justice, according to the LGBTQ+ group in Japan.
The court has no authority to reject the marriage laws that have been interpreted as restricting marriage between a man and a woman. Until a new law is passed that allows for other types of organizations, the same-sex couples may still be denied recognition by federal agencies.
According to the Sapporo High Court decision, it is against their fundamental rights to equality and freedom of marriage to allow same-sex people to marry and enjoy the same benefits as direct people. Three same-sex couples filed an appeal three years ago after a lower court overruled the constitutionality of exempting same-sex people from marriage equality and turned down compensation claims for their suffering.
A lower jury earlier on Thursday rendered a similar decision, making it the case for the fifth district court. The Tokyo District Court’s decision, however, was only a partial victory for Japan’s LGBTQ+ community because it doesn’t alter or overturn the country’s current civil union law, which the government claims defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Five prior court decisions in different cities demonstrated that Japan’s plan of denying same-sex unions is either illegal or nearly so. But, unlike the Sapporo ruling Friday, none of the district-level courts evidently deemed the Japanese government’s existing policy to accept same-sex couples illegal.
Judge Kiyofumi Saito of the Sapporo High Court said that the marriage equality principle should apply to people of different and the same sexes. With their isolation, same-sex couples have experienced considerable disadvantages, suffering, or loss of dignity, the prosecutor said.
“Restricting marriage to similar-sex couples is a bias that lacks rationality,” the decision said. However, it said, “Allowing for same-sex marriage does not cause any harm or risk to anyone.”
Eri Nakaya, a complainant, claimed that the conventional definition of marriage had made her believe that same-sex people were treated as if they did not exist.
She remarked that it’s acceptable for same-sex people to live in this country and that it’s important for them to get married.
Japan is the only member of the Group of Seven countries that also forbids same-sex people from getting married and receiving marriage benefits.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party, known for its traditional family values and resistance to promoting gender equality and sexual diversity, continues to oppose the plan despite growing support for marriage equality among the Japanese public.
According to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, the government would be watching carefully the public opinion, the parliamentary debate, and pending court cases because “an entry of same-sex marriage strongly affects family values of the people.”
The court stated in the Tokyo decision that everyone has the right to marry, have a family, and enjoy benefits that marriage offers, such as tax breaks and social security benefits, and that they are denied of their fundamental rights due to the lack of the legal right to same-sex couples.
The Tokyo decision also acknowledged the equality of same-sex marriage and the right for anyone to live in accordance with their sexuality and sexual identity, as well as the fact that traditional family values and marriage are changing and that same-sex equality is becoming more popular in international and corporate settings. The court said the government’s lack of effort to implement legal marriage equality is not unconstitutional, but expressed hope for the parliament to enact a law for same-sex marriage.
According to the Marriage for All Japan, a civil organization supporting the lawsuits, Nepal allows same-sex marriage registration starting in 2023, just as it is now recognized in dozens of countries, including Western nations like Greece and the United States.
The eight Tokyo plaintiffs claim that Japan’s slow pace of progress is regrettable. A lawyer, Makiko Terahara, said they planned to appeal Thursday’s decision to a high court.
While Japan’s conservative government has been criticized for excluding diversity, recent surveys reveal that the majority of Japanese people support legalizing same-sex unions. The business community is now gaining a lot more support.
In June, Tokyo passed a law promoting LGBTQ+ awareness that was criticized as being diluted. The Supreme Court ruled in addition that Japan’s law forbids transgender people from formally changing their gender is unconstitutional.
