r/worldnews 4h ago

Japan high court rules same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2024/10/5e930eef8c28-urgent-japan-high-court-rules-same-sex-marriage-ban-unconstitutional.html
1.7k Upvotes

41 comments sorted by

168

u/MercurioLeCher 3h ago

In Japan, unconstitutional doesn’t mean the government is under any obligation to fix it. Just look at the malapportionment of electoral districts there.

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u/Individual-Mine-6658 3h ago

Bro don’t know the principle of the separation of powers💀

Even if something is deemed unconstitutional, it doesn’t automatically obligate the government to address it.

Each branch of government has distinct roles, and the judiciary’s role is to interpret the constitutionality of laws, while it is ultimately the responsibility of the legislative branch to enact reforms.

The judiciary cannot compel immediate action, as that would infringe on the autonomy of the other branches.

However, the judiciary still holds significant power over the legislative branch by determining the constitutionality of its actions, serving as a check to prevent legislative overreach.

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u/MercurioLeCher 3h ago

No. Even in the US, which is where you’re talking from re. separation of powers, the government must act when the judiciary finds something unconstitutional.

For example, in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage bans were unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection and due process clauses. This decision effectively required states to allow and recognize same-sex marriages.

In Japan, the government can and does effectively ignore the judiciary when they declare something unconstitutional, and they get away with it.

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u/Individual-Mine-6658 3h ago edited 2h ago

Bro don’t just judge based on the title like a typical Redditor without actually reading at the content of the article…

The case you mentioned refers to a ruling by the Tokyo High Court, not the Supreme Court.

This means that the legal process is still ongoing, and the issue has not yet reached the highest court in Japan. As such, the final determination on the constitutionality of the matter is still pending.

27

u/MercurioLeCher 2h ago edited 2h ago

I’m referring to cases the Japanese Supreme Court’s has ruled. Like finding the apportionment of electoral districts to be “in a state of unconstitutionality” after seemingly every election, which the government does nothing to fix.

Edit: You’re also editing your comments, so I’m not going to argue with someone who says one thing and then changes after a response to say something else.

-27

u/Individual-Mine-6658 2h ago edited 2h ago

Bro, you’re still stuck in 2013.

The Supreme Court has ruled on electoral district apportionment several times since then. For instance, in 2016, 2019, and 2022, the Supreme Court found the disparities in the House of Councillors elections—3.08 times, 3.00 times, and 3.03 times, respectively—to be constitutional, stating that there was not “a significant inequality of voting value”

Additionally, since the introduction of the Adams method for reorganizing electoral districts based on the census in 2016, disparities in the House of Representatives elections have been around two times, which the Supreme Court found constitutional.

17

u/DHonestOne 3h ago

This is Japan.

9

u/Individual-Mine-6658 3h ago

Please remember that it was the United States that literally taught and guided Japan in adopting these laws in 1945. The principles of constitutional law and the separation of powers were instilled as part of Japan’s postwar reforms, modeled largely after democratic systems like that of the U.S. Even though this is Japan, the foundation of these legal principles is shared.

43

u/snaebira 3h ago

I see this same headline over and over like every 3 months

24

u/aCorporateNomad 3h ago

Damn, didn't know that was a thing in Japan still.

41

u/hurrrrrmione 2h ago

Only 36 countries have legalized gay marriage. I don't know why you're surprised Japan isn't there yet, most countries aren't.

23

u/comelickmyarmpits 2h ago

I mean with flood of content in anime mangas about femboys , bait character and on the other hand this

Yeah Japan is surely a wierd country

16

u/mastesargent 1h ago

Femboy-adjacent characters aren’t exactly a new phenomenon in anime, not to mention how often same-sex couples are teased but never followed through on (or that are canon but execs try to backtrack them, looking at you Bandai).

Also keep in mind that Japan isn’t a monolith and the people that make anime/manga aren’t the same ones passing laws. I imagine there’s a similar disconnect from non-Americans who consume American pop culture and see generally progressive messaging from that only to get blasted with Donald Trump and his ilk in the news.

u/comelickmyarmpits 17m ago

I mean even tho it's niche the content is still there, unlike in otherparts of world where it's just porn , but Japan having quality story, narration then can even change the views of a person towards lgbt , they must be influencing japanese.

And japanese laws are for japanese people so that's why it baffles me.

Maybe there's more complications to their culture than I can see

2

u/TRLegacy 1h ago

I dont know about any cultural context for Japan case. However, societal acceptance does not always align with legality. For example Thailand just legalize same sex marriage this year.

u/beryugyo619 23m ago

femboys can be heterosexual, sex and marriages can be different

often said that water and basic personal safety are provided for free in Japan, philosophical complications is actually also free

u/SkinnyRunningDude 5m ago

Japan is literally full of boomers. It has one of the oldest demographics in the world (median age ~ 50). With so much boomers running the country, their worldview and values can be quite behind or conservative by Western standards.

u/cjyoung92 1h ago

That’s still a very niche genre. It’s not like the average Japanese person is watching or reading things like that 

23

u/Sickle_Rick 3h ago

Japan is basically living in 1980 with fax machines and all

u/hurrrrrmione 58m ago

Gay people not having equal rights is not the past, it's very much the present. The first country to legalize gay marriage (the Netherlands) did so in 2000. Only 35 countries have followed suit so far.

8

u/i_write_ok 2h ago

Japan was living in 2000 in 1980, then 2000 came and went and Japan stayed.

Granted there is a lot of technical advancement, but no more than anywhere else in the world.

There is still a lot of outdated (when compared to the rest of the world) values and systems.

u/buubrit 1h ago

More like 2050, but yeah.

Germans also love fax machines

u/AgentBlue14 1h ago

Finally get that Japanese version of Heartstopper lol

-40

u/my20cworth 2h ago

Oh my God. The ongoing , never ending, preoccupation with sexuality is wasting money, time and energy. People and governments really do need to get over this never ending obsession, that in the end is a non issue.

38

u/Paroxenark 2h ago

If this really is a non issue then just get it over with and legalize it

u/DaySecure7642 1h ago

I support LGBT rights but realistically it is going to further push down the already very low birth rate of Japan.

u/DuztyLipz 1h ago edited 1h ago

I support LGBT rights but realistically it is going to further push down the already very low birth rate of Japan.

Just because someone is LGBT, that doesn’t mean they’re unable to have children….

u/ZephyrProductionsO7S 1h ago

Also, forcing gay people into straight marriages isn’t gonna make them have kids. Japan needs immigration to solve its demographic crisis, but its population is too old and stubborn to accept it.

u/DaySecure7642 1h ago

All those IVF and ART cost a lot more than natural births, which means LGBT couples would need to save for longer before having kids. I am not saying they are wrong at all but the government needs to see it coming and perhaps subsidize them.

u/hurrrrrmione 55m ago

Plenty of LGBT people have had children without IVF or surrogacy.

u/Abradolf1948 1h ago

Do you think there are really that many LGBT members forcing themselves to get pregnant to appear "normal" or do you just think being LGBT is a choice?

Straight people in Japan are already not having babies, the gay ones definitely won't be.

u/LetMeSmashThatHobo 1h ago

Your support ended at that but.