A SECOND Japanese high court ruled today that the government’s opposition to same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, in the latest in a series of decisions upholding plaintiffs’ demands for marriage equality.

The Tokyo High Court called the ban “a groundless legal discrimination based on sexual orientation,” saying it violated the constitutional guarantee of the right to equality as well as individuals’ dignity and equality between the sexes. 

It was a clearer statement than a lower-court decision in 2022, which described the situation as “an unconstitutional state.”

In March this year, the Sapporo High Court ruled that not allowing same-sex couples to marry and enjoy the same benefits as straight couples violated their fundamental right to equality and freedom of marriage.

Today’s legal decision is the seventh overall to have declared ongoing ban to be unconstitutional or nearly so, against just one district court decision that found it constitutional. The rulings can still be challenged in the Supreme Court.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said that the latest ruling had not been finalised and that his government would continue to watch other pending court cases.

Nonetheless, hopes have been raised among the LGBT+ community.

Their main obstacle, Japan’s conservative ruling coalition, lost its parliamentary majority in an election on Sunday and is likely to have to compromise on more liberal policies pushed by the opposition parties such as marriage equality, which is largely supported by the general public.

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

Hundreds of local councils have issued partnership certificates to same-sex couples to help them rent homes and overcome other forms of discrimination, but that does not provide the same legal benefit as heterosexual couples enjoy, said today’s ruling.