A Tokyo court ruled Friday that the ban on marriage equality does not violate Japan’s constitution. Several recent court cases have ruled the ban unconstitutional, meaning the latest ruling is an outlier.
Japan is the only G7 country without marriage equality, while Taiwan, Thailand and Nepal are the only Asian countries with marriage equality. BBC Note.
According to the BBC, the Japanese newspaper Minichi reported that the judge who handed down the ruling ruled that same-sex marriage laws should first be left to parliament.
of Associated Press According to reports, the judge said it seemed appropriate to define marriage as between a man and a woman and their children.
According to the Associated Press, support for marriage quality has increased significantly in recent years.
One of the plaintiffs, Shino Kawachi, told local media that the ruling was “difficult to understand.”
“What is justice? Were the courts looking at us? Were they thinking about the next generation?” she said.
“The Japanese government needs to actively work to legalize same-sex marriage so that couples can fully enjoy the same marriage rights as heterosexuals,” Boram Jang, East Asia researcher at Amnesty International, said in a statement.
Japan’s current ruling party opposes marriage equality.
Five other court cases have ruled the ban unconstitutional in recent years. The marriage equality case is currently before Japan’s Supreme Court.
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
