High Court Finds Same-Sex Marriage Non-Recognition Constitutional

Tokyo, Nov. 28 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo High Court ruled Friday that Japan’s Civil Code and other provisions that do not recognize same-sex marriage are constitutional. Presiding Judge Ayumi Higashi said that the current legal provisions and the absence of a same-sex marriage system “cannot be deemed unconstitutional,” rejecting claims for compensation in a lawsuit filed by eight plaintiffs demanding damages of 1 million yen each from the state. The judge therefore overturned a ruling by Tokyo District Court that found the provisions were in a state of unconstitutionality. Tokyo High Court was the first high court to find the same-sex marriage denial constitutional in six similar damages lawsuits filed with five district courts across the country. The five preceding high court rulings all said the provisions were unconstitutional. The Supreme Court is expected to issue a unified ruling on the matter. In March last year, Tokyo District Court ruled that the provisions were in a state of unconstitutionality, as they violated the second sentence of Article 24 of the Constitution, which stipulates that marriage laws should be based on individual dignity. The plaintiffs, including a transgender man, argued that not only same-sex couples but also transgender individuals whose assigned sex at birth differs from their gender identity cannot marry partners who are recorded as the same sex in the family register. They claimed that the provisions violate Article 24, which stipulates freedom of marriage and other rights, and the first sentence of Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality under the law. They also criticized the Diet, Japan’s parliament, for its failure to rectify this situation as unlawful. The government countered that the first sentence of Article 24 explicitly states “both sexes” and “husband and wife” and does not assume same-sex marriage. It also argued that the second sentence of Article 24 presupposes heterosexual couples and does not require legislative measures for same-sex relationships. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]