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A Japanese court has ruled that the same-sex marriage ban is not unconstitutional. In addition, it denied the request for financial compensation for damages to a group of people who had opened the case in order to seek the recognition of marriage between same-sex couples in the country. The decision was condemned by groups in favor of the rights of the LGBTIQ+ community.
On June 20, a ruling issued by the Osaka District Court was made known, confirming that “not allowing same-sex marriage does not violate the Constitution.” The decision comes after three same-sex couples, two men and one woman, demanded before the Court the legalization of equal marriage in the country.
The group that made the claim was based on article 14 of the Political Constitution, which stipulates that there should be equality for the application of the laws and that there should be no discrimination based on “political, economic or social relations for reasons of race , creed, sex, social status or origin.
However, the Court responded by relying on article 24 of the Constitution, which states that marriage “is based solely on the mutual consent of both sexes.”
Similarly, the request for economic compensation for damages for the plaintiffs for one million yen, approximately USD $7,300, was denied.
Activist groups try to pressure the government to legalize same-sex marriage
The fight to legalize same-sex marriage in Japan is not new. In March 2021, a group of activists seeking to put pressure on the central government to address the petition received a response from the Sapporo Court stating that “not allowing same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.”
With the new response from the Osaka Court, same-sex couples have lost the possibility of achieving equality before the law to receive benefits such as inheriting each other’s assets, having access to pensions and social security, among others.
“I wonder if the legal system in this country is really working,” said Machi Sakata, one of the plaintiffs in the Osaka Court, who married her partner in the United States. The Court also ruled that it was a subject that had not been discussed enough in Japanese society.
For his part, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the matter should be treated carefully. His party, the Liberal Democrats, has been in favor of the issue although it has not presented a project to date.
Since last week, the Tokyo prefecture approved a bill to recognize agreements between same-sex couples and thus be able to obtain certain benefits such as renting properties together and having the right to visit the hospital if necessary, however, they do not have the same benefits as heterosexual couples.
“In this case, we emphasized that we wanted same-sex couples to have access to the same things as regular couples,” said lawyer Akiyoshi Miwa, adding that they would appeal.
A long way to go in terms of LGBTIQ+ rights
Japan is characterized by having a conservative society. It is the only country in the G7 group, made up of Germany, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Italy, where same-sex marriage is not yet legal. However, on the Asian continent, Taiwan is the only country where same-sex marriage is fully recognized.
In some Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Qatar, among others, homosexuality is still criminalized, generating heavy prison sentences and even the death penalty for adults who are caught having sexual relations with people of the same sex.
The legalization of marriage between same-sex couples is not only important for its stakeholders. In recent years, companies have analyzed the inclusion of the LGBTIQ+ community before investing in a country, since it has been shown to be a strong market with great economic potential and different needs.
Masa Yanagisawa, chief services officer at Goldman Sachs and a board member of the activist group ‘Marriage for all Japan’, said “international companies don’t want to invest in a place that is not LGBTIQ+ friendly.”
A survey conducted in the city of Tokyo at the end of last year revealed that around 70% of its inhabitants were in favor of same-sex marriage.
It is expected that in the next few days a debate will be opened by the Government.
With Reuters and AP
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