Overview
- The court held the ban constitutional and rejected 1 million yen in damages sought by each of eight plaintiffs in the Tokyo case.
- Judge Ayumi Higashi deemed a family defined as a heterosexual couple and their children a rational legal concept, while Presiding Judge Yumi Tōa cautioned that continued inaction could lead to constitutional violations and called for Diet deliberation.
- The ruling diverges from five other high courts in Sapporo, Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka and a separate Tokyo case that found the ban unconstitutional.
- With all six high court decisions complete, the appeals are expected to be consolidated for a Supreme Court ruling.
- Human rights groups condemned the decision and plaintiffs vowed to continue, as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi oppose legalizing same-sex marriage.