Society

Nagoya High Court Rules Same-Sex Marriage Ban Unconstitutional

NAGOYA, Mar 07 (News On Japan) - The Nagoya High Court has ruled that Japan’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, upholding a lower court decision in a case filed by a same-sex couple from Aichi Prefecture.

The plaintiffs, a couple in their 30s, argued that denying them the right to marry violates the Constitution and sought damages from the government.

In May 2022, the Nagoya District Court found that preventing same-sex couples from accessing the legal rights and benefits of marriage lacked reasonable justification, declaring the current legal framework unconstitutional.

In today's appeal ruling, Presiding Judge Nobuhiro Katada of the Nagoya High Court reaffirmed that preventing same-sex couples from entering legal marriage constitutes unlawful discrimination. However, the court dismissed the couple’s claim for damages.

This marks the fourth high court ruling in Japan to find the ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional.

Source: TBS

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