Japan's same-sex marriage ban is not unconstitutional, court rules

A Japanese court ruled on Monday that a ban on same-sex marriage was not unconstitutional, dealing a setback to LGBTQ rights activists in the only G7 nation that does not allow people of the same gender to marry.

The ruling dashes activists’ hopes of raising pressure on the central government to address the issue, after a court in the city of Sapporo in March 2021 decided in favour of a claim that not allowing same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.

Three same-sex couples — two male, one female — had filed the case in a district court in Osaka, only the second to be