Tokyo: The High Court has issued a major ruling on same-sex marriage in Japan. The decision hit gay couples hard. On Wednesday, another high court declared the government’s policy banning same-sex marriage unconstitutional. The Tokyo High Court said the ban on same-sex marriage was “baseless legal discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation”.
She said the ban violated the right to equality, personal dignity and the constitutional guarantee of gender equality. This follows a March ruling by the Sapporo High Court that said not allowing gay couples to marry and enjoy the same benefits as civil couples violated their fundamental rights to equality and freedom of marriage. On Wednesday, the Tokyo High Court became the seventh court in Japan to rule that the current ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional or similar. Only one district court in the country has declared a ban on same-sex marriage constitutional. However, these orders can be challenged in the Supreme Court.
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