A court in Tokyo ruled Friday that the country’s ban on marriage equality does not violate Japan’s constitution. Several court cases in recent years have found the ban unconstitutional, meaning the most recent ruling is an outlier.
While Japan is the only G7 country without marriage equality, only Taiwan, Thailand, and Nepal have marriage equality among Asian countries, the BBC notes.
Japanese newspaper Minichi reported that the judge who delivered the verdict ruled that laws related to same-sex marriage should be left to parliament first, according to the BBC.
The Associated Press reports that the judge said defining marriage as between a man and a woman and their children seemed appropriate.
Support for marriage quality has increased significantly over the last few years, the AP reports.
One plaintiff, Shino Kawachi, spoke to local media saying the decision was “difficult to comprehend.”
“What is justice? Was the court even watching us? Were they considering the next generation?” she said.
“The Japanese government needs to be proactive in moving towards the legalisation of same-sex marriage so that couples can fully enjoy the same marriage rights as their heterosexual counterparts,” Amnesty International’s East Asia researcher Boram Jang said in a statement, the BBC reports.
The current ruling political party in Japan opposes marriage equality.
Five other court cases have found the ban unconstitutional in recent years. Cases around marriage equality now head to Japan’s Supreme Court.
This article originally appeared on Advocate: Japan’s ban on marriage equality is constitutional, according to a Tokyo court
AloJapan.com