In a landmark ruling, Japan's Sapporo District Court on Wednesday said that not allowing same-sex couples to marry is "unconstitutional."
This is the first ever ruling in Japan regarding the legality of same-sex marriage, Reuters reports. The country's constitution defines marriage as being based on "the mutual consent of both sexes," and while municipalities can issue partnership certificates that make it easier for gay couples to rent and visit each other in the hospital, they cannot inherit assets or share parental rights.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
What is cloud seeding and did it cause Dubai's severe rainfall?The Explainer The future is flooded
-
American Airlines pilots are warning of a 'significant spike' in safety issuesIn the Spotlight The pilot's union listed 'problematic trends' they say are affecting the airline's fleet
-
6 star-spangled presidential libraries to visitThe Week Recommends These institutions provide insight into American leaders
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security lawSpeed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitutionspeed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidenceSpeed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulationsSpeed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriageSpeed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
-
Trump and his lawyer Alina Habba have a rough day in defamation courtSpeed Read Trump's audible grousing as E. Jean Carroll testified earned him a warning he could be thrown out of court, and Habba showed she 'doesn't know what the hell she's doing'
-
Anders Breivik to testify in prison isolation lawsuit against NorwaySpeed Read Far-right fanatic who killed 77 people in 2011 claims he has received 'inhuman treatment' in custody
