Although Japan is a very modernized country, its conservative culture has led to high levels of discrimination, especially towards the queer community. In the Japan, there is no law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. This lack of protection has allowed queerphobic hate crimes to go unidentified, putting queer Japanese at high risk. Furthermore, Article 24 of the Japanese Constitution only grants marriage rights to same-sex couples, affectively banning gay marriages within Japan. The law reads, “Marriage shall be based only on the mutual consent of both sexes and it shall be maintained through mutual cooperation with the equal rights of husband and wife as a basis.” Although the law itself is not specifically queerphobic, the lack of very definitive language of husband and wife exclude queer couples from representation under this law.

In 2019 14 queer filed law suits against the Japanese government on grounds of violating their rights to free union and equality. Unfortunately, on June 20 of this year, the court rejected their demands for 1 million yen, claiming that the country’s ban on same-sex marriage e does not violate the constitution, thus upholding their legal discrimination against members of the LGBTQIA+ community. This ruling serves as setback for queer activists in Japan and indicates the country’s unwillingness to modernize their culture.

Sources:

https://time.com/6189670/japan-same-sex-marriage-lgbt/

https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/asia-and-the-pacific/east-asia/japan/report-japan/

https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2021/country-chapters/japan

https://japan.kantei.go.jp/constitution_and_government_of_japan/constitution_e.html

https://www.npr.org/2022/06/20/1106313824/japan-court-ban-on-same-sex-marriage-constitutional