A very significant step by Japan for the civil rights of the Japanese LGBTQIA community
This historic ruling by the Tokyo High Court on 30 October 2024 declares the ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. A decision that marks a very important step in the fight for civil rights for the Japanese LGBTQIA community.
Sonoe Taniguchi, President of the Tokyo High Court, stated that the recognition of a citizen’s right to a marital relationship with a partner should be considered an ‘important legal interest‘ for both heterosexual and gay couples.
Not only that, but the ruling also highlighted the fact that the ban on same-sex marriage violated the Constitution itself, which states that laws on family and marriage must be enacted “from the point of view of individual dignity and substantial equality between the sexes“.
This decision was received with great satisfaction by the Japanese LGBTQIA community. Also because civil unions have not yet been legalised in Japan, not even between people of the same sex.