A Japanese court backs same-sex marriage
ON VALENTINE’S DAY in 2019, 13 same-sex couples filed lawsuits in four cities across Japan. Their case was simple: they argued that their partnerships were no different from those of heterosexual couples, and that the government’s refusal to recognise gay marriage violated the constitution’s promise of equal treatment for all. This week a district court in Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s main islands, came down on the side of the three couples who sued there, the first such ruling by a Japanese court. It is, as a sign held by supporters outside the courtroom proclaimed, “a big step forward for marriage equality”.Listen to this storyYour browser does not support the element.Enjoy more audio and podcasts on iOS or Android.Yet it is also, for the time being, only a symbolic one. The three-judge panel declared that preventing the couples from marrying contradicted Article 14 of the constitution, which forbids discrimination on the basis of race, creed, sex, social status or family origin. Yet it also refused to award damages to the plaintiffs, arguing that public opinion was evolving quickly, and that the government should be given time to legislate on the matter.Neither the constitution nor any laws explicitly ban same-sex marriages. Some local governments issue documents certifying same-sex partnerships, which can simplify hunts for flats and visits to partners in hospital. But the national government does not acknowledge these, depriving gay couples of certain benefits of marriage. That leaves Japan out of step not only with other rich countries—it is the only G7 member that does not recognise same-sex unions—but also with its former colony, Taiwan, which in 2019 became the first Asian country to legalise gay marriage.The plaintiffs say they will appeal against the refusal of compensation. In the meantime, campaigners plan to use the lower court’s finding to bolster suits in other cities. More favourable rulings could increase pressure on parliament to act.Most voters would welcome that. A poll in 2018 found that nearly 80% of people aged between 20 and 59 approved of same-sex marriage; the share rose to nearly 90% among those in their 20s. Since two wards in Tokyo became the first local authorities to issue same-sex partnership certificates in 2015, 72 more have followed, home to a third of the population.Many business leaders see gay marriage as an economic as well as moral issue. As the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan noted last year, given the shrinking labour force, “Japanese companies cannot afford to lose in the global competition for the brightest talent.” Nearly 150 companies belong to a “Business for Marriage Equality” campaign, among them blue-chip firms such as Fujitsu and Panasonic.But the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) remains opposed to gay marriage. Its old-fashioned views on matters of sexual equality extend to married couples, whom it continues to bar from retaining separate surnames. Just 9% of LDP candidates for the upper house of parliament in 2019 backed gay marriage. Last month the prime minister, Suga Yoshihide, defended the government for supporting “the foundations of the family in this country”. But banning people from forming families is a peculiar form of support. ■This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Inching forward”