Read more at AP News.

A court found Japan’s refusal to legalize same-sex marriage was constitutional Friday in the last of six cases that are expected to be brought to the Supreme Court for a final and definitive ruling, possibly next year.

The Tokyo High Court said marriage under the law is largely expected to be a union between men and women in a decision that reversed a lower court ruling last year and was the first loss at high courts in the six cases brought by those seeking equal marriage rights.

Judge Ayumi Higashi said a legal definition of a family as a unit between a couple and their children is rational and that exclusion of same-sex marriage is valid. The court also dismissed damages of 1 million yen ($6,400) each sought by eight sexual minorities seeking equal marital rights.

Plaintiffs and their lawyers said the decision was unjust but they were determined to keep fighting through the Supreme Court.

“I’m so disappointed,” plaintiff Hiromi Hatogai told reporters outside the court. “Rather than sorrow, I’m outraged and appalled by the decision. Were the judges listening to us?”

“We only want to be able to marry and be happy, just like anyone else,” said another plaintiff, Rie Fukuda. “I believe the society is changing. We won’t give up.”

With all six high court cases done, the Supreme Court is expected to handle all appeals and make a decision.

Though discrimination still exists at school, work and elsewhere, public backing for legalizing same-sex marriage and support in the business community have rapidly increased in recent years.

Japan is the only member of the Group of Seven industrialized countries that does not recognize same-sex marriage or provide any other form of legally binding protection for LGBTQ+ couples.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ‘s conservative ruling Liberal Democratic Party is the main opponent of same-sex marital rights in Japan. The government has argued that marriage under civil law does not cover same-sex couples and places importance on natural reproduction.

More than 30 plaintiffs have joined the lawsuits on marriage equality filed across Japan since 2019. They argue that civil law provisions barring same-sex marriage violate the Constitutional right to equality and freedom of marriage.

Friday’s ruling was only the second that found the current government policy constitutional after the 2022 Osaka District Court decision.

Read more at Gay Times.

The Japanese government has expanded legal protections to same-sex couples.

According to The Japan Times, the government has decided to recognise same-sex couples as being in “de facto marriages” under nine additional laws, including the Disaster Condolence Grant law.

This follows a decision earlier this year to extend 24 existing laws – including the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, Land and House Lease Act, Child Abuse Prevention Act, and Public Housing Act – to same-sex couples.

Japan’s LGBTQIA+ community has long been engaged in a battle for marriage equality.

Currently, the country’s constitution defines marriage as “mutual consent between both sexes” and does not recognise marriage equality.

In March 2021, the Sapporo District Court ruled that the government’s refusal to recognise same-sex marriage was unconstitutional under Article 14 of the Japanese constitution, which bans discrimination based on “race, creed, sex, social status, or family origin.”

While the historic ruling offered a sign of hope for LGBTQIA+ equality, the community was hit with a major setback the following year.

In June 2022, a district court in Osaka ruled against three LGBTQIA+ couples and their call for same-sex marriage.

“From the perspective of individual dignity, it can be said that it is necessary to realise the benefits of same-sex couples being publicly recognised through official recognition,” the court said on 20 June.

“Public debate on what kind of system is appropriate for this has not been thoroughly carried out.”

A few months later, a Tokyo court upheld the ruling.

However, despite the court doubling down on its stance, the presiding judge also stated that the lack of a legal system and protections for same-sex couples infringes on their human rights (per CNN).

While the marriage equality movement in Japan has suffered a handful of setbacks, it has also seen a few notable wins over the last three years.

In May 2023, the Japanese government faced renewed pressure when the Nagoya District Court ruled the country’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional.

In 2024, the Tokyo High Court and the Sapporo High Court issued separate rulings marking the ban as unconstitutional.

Most recently, Japan’s Osaka High Court and Nagoya High Court delivered similar decisions in March 2025.