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Japan’s ruling party has been condemned by LGBTQ+ activists for failing to approve a bill that protects the rights of LGBTQ+ people.
The country’s conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) – which has been in power continuously since it came to fruition in 1955 (bar a few years) – refused to champion a bill by minority parties called the Equality Act, with some MP’s stating the rights of sexual minorities have “gone too far”.
Although the bill states that discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community “must not be tolerated”, there were a few homophobic remarks in the meeting. Kazuo Yana from the LDP reportedly said that same-sex relationships “resist the preservation of the species, which should happen biologically”.
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4 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese court ruled on Wednesday that not allowing same-sex couples to get married is “unconstitutional,” setting a precedent in the only G7 nation not to fully recognise same-sex partnership.
The ruling by a district court, the first in Japan on the legality of same-sex marriages, is a major symbolic victory in a country where the constitution still defines marriage as being based on “the mutual consent of both sexes”.
Following the ruling, plaintiffs and supporters unfurled rainbow flags and banners in front of the court.
While a new law will be needed before same-sex marriages can actually take place - which could take some time in socially conservative Japan - the plaintiffs’ lawyer called the ruling “revolutionary”, while LGBT activists deemed it life-changing.
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