Japanese High Court Rules Ban On Same-Sex Marriage Is Unconstitutional

Image: Marriage For All Facebook

For the first time, a Japanese High Court has ruled that the country’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

‘An Inalienable Right’

On March 14, the Sapporo High Court found that “living in accordance with one’s gender identity and sexual orientation is an inalienable right rooted in important person interests.”

In a report by ABC, Sapporo High Court Judge Kiyofumi Saito said, “Disallowing marriage to same-sex couples is a discrimination that lacks rationality … allowing same-sex marriage creates no disadvantage or harm to anyone.”

The High Court does not have the power to reverse Japan’s ban on same-sex marriage. The Court, however, called on Parliament to “institutionalise an appropriate same-sex marriage law.”

‘A Significant Step Towards Achieving Marriage Equality In Japan’

In a statement, Amnesty International’s East Asia Researcher Boram Jang explained the decision, saying, “The court decisions today mark a significant step towards achieving marriage equality in Japan. The ruling in Sapporo, the first High Court decision on same-sex marriage in the country, emphatically shows the trend towards acceptance of same-sex marriage in Japan.

Jang continued, “By recognizing that the government’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, these rulings make clear that such discrimination has no place in Japanese society.”

Jang called on the Japanese government to “be proactive in moving towards the legalisation of same-sex marriage so that couples can fully enjoy the same marriage rights as their heterosexual counterparts.”