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Japan’s second highest court declares failure to protect same-sex marriage unconstitutional
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Japan’s second highest court declares failure to protect same-sex marriage unconstitutional

A Tokyo High Court ruled that Japan's failure to protect same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, becoming the second high court to do so. File photo by Jiji Press/EPA-EFE

A Tokyo High Court ruled that Japan’s failure to protect same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, becoming the second high court to do so. File photo by Jiji Press/EPA-EFE

October 30 (UPI) — The Tokyo High Court ruled Wednesday that the government’s failure to recognize same-sex marriage was against the country’s constitution, the second court to do so.

The Tokyo High Court affirmed that the Japanese government does not protect same-sex marriage “it had no rational basis” and has become a form of “legal discrimination based on sexual orientation.”

The court cited Article 14 of the Constitution, which declares that everyone is equal before the law, and a paragraph of Article 24 which states that laws on marriage “shall be promulgated from the point of view of individual dignity and the essential equality of the sexes.”

Wednesday’s ruling follows a Sapporo High Court ruling in March, which upheld a lower court’s 2021 ruling that the failure to protect same-sex marriage violated Article 14.

The Sapporo ruling also ruled that the wording of the Article 24 paragraph could be interpreted to guarantee marriage for same-sex couples, countering the government’s argument that the language excluded them.

“The degree of social acceptance to grant (same-sex couples) the same protection as heterosexuals has increased considerably,” Judge Sonoe Taniguchi said in her ruling. according to Kyodo News.

The plaintiffs took their case to the High Court after a Tokyo District Court in November rejected damages against the government, while suggesting the issue was better suited to be resolved by the Japanese legislature.

The court, however, rejected the plaintiff’s request for $6,500 in compensation from the government for failing to protect same-sex marriage.

No court has approved financial compensation for plaintiffs in cases challenging the lack of protections for same-sex marriage.

Taniguchi said in the ruling that the government could not be held responsible for compensating the plaintiffs since Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the protection of same-sex marriage.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said during a press conference that the introduction of a same-sex marriage system “concerns the fundamentals of people’s lives and is closely related to the vision that each parish priest has.” of the family.”