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Japan court rules that not allowing same-sex marriage is 'in a state of unconstitutionality'

Jun 08, 2023 | News On Japan

FUKUOKA - Japan's Fukuoka District Court ruled on Thursday that not allowing same-sex marriage was "in a state of unconstitutionality", in a complicated ruling that fell short of marriage-equality activists' expectations.

The ruling came a week after another district court said it was unconstitutional to not allow same-sex marriage, bolstering hopes of the LGBTQ community in Japan, the only G7 nation without legal protection for same-sex unions.

Five rulings on same-sex marriage have now been handed down around Japan — two saying bans on it are unconstitutional and one saying they were not. Two were less conclusive.

A Tokyo ruling upheld the ban on same-sex marriage but said a lack of legal protection for same-sex families violated their human rights.

A lawyer for the Fukuoka plaintiffs said details of the latest ruling were still being verified, but that he thought it was likely to be similar to that of the Tokyo court. When it was handed down, activists saw that ruling as a step forward.

Opinion polls show about 70 per cent of the public supports same-sex marriage, but the conservative ruling party of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida opposes it. ...continue reading

Source: 日テレNEWS

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