Japan recently made another stride forward for LGBTQ+ equality by extending spousal rights to same-couples. The Japanese government will now allow same-sex couples to be considered in “de-facto marriages” across nine additional laws and ordinances. According to LGBTQ Nation, the decision follows a January extension of 24 laws to same-sex couples, including the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, Land and House Lease Act, Child Abuse Prevention Act, and the Public Housing Act.
This week’s decision suggests Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is taking public opinion into account more than previous governments. According to a 2023 report from Reuters, around 70% of Japan’s population supports marriage equality.
The nation has taken small steps toward legalizing same-sex marriage in recent years as various district courts have ruled same-sex marriage bans unconstitutional. In 2022, a court in Osaka ruled that same-sex marriage bans were constitutional, a decision that rocked the LGBTQ+ community throughout the country. In the summer of 2023, a district court in Nagoya ruled again that these bans were unconstitutional, and also ruled mandatory sterilization of transgender people unconstitutional. In the spring of 2024, a high court in Japan ruled that the country’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, and called on the government to amend these laws.
In its recent ruling the Sapporo High Court declared that denying same-sex couples the right to marry and enjoy marital benefits that straight couples have “violates their fundamental right to equality and freedom of marriage,” according to AP News. Despite this ruling, the court does not have the power to overturn the law. The justices did however, recommend that the existing marriage law be rewritten to include various types of unions.
At the time of the 2024 ruling, board member for Marriage for All Japan, Masakazu Yanagisawa, said “There is a growing risk that Japan will be left behind by international trends and excluded from being an option as a place to work. We are at a critical juncture to see if Japan will become a society that accepts diversity.”
Currently, Japan and Italy are the only remaining members of the seven industrialized nations (G7) that do not have marriage equality for same-sex couples.
