However, some parts of the country issue “ partnership certificates” that grant some rights to same-sex couples, such as allowing them to rent properties and have hospital visitation rights. Japan remains the only Group of Seven (G7) country that has not recognized either same-sex civil unions or same-sex marriage at a national level. On that occasion, the Sapporo court ruled the government’s failure to recognize same-sex marriage violated the constitutional right to equality - though it too had dismissed a similar claim for damages.
The Osaka court’s ruling came in stark contrast to a historic judgment by the Sapporo district court in Japan’s northern Hokkaido prefecture in March 2021. The ruling of the Osaka court dashed the hopes of gay rights activists who are pressuring the government to rethink its opposition to same-sex marriage. But the court sided with the government, ruling that under the constitution the definition of marriage did not extend to partnerships between people of the same gender, public broadcaster NHK reported.
