A court endorses gay marriage, but the government remains opposed
一家法院支持同性婚姻，但政府仍然反对
On Valentine’s Day in 2019, 13 same-sex couples filed lawsuits in four cities across Japan. Their case was simple: they argued that their partnerships were no different from those of heterosexual couples, and that the government’s refusal to recognise gay marriage violated the constitution’s promise of equal treatment for all. this week a district court in Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s main islands, came down on the side of the three couples who sued there, the first such ruling by a Japanese court. It is, as a sign held by supporters outside the courtroom proclaimed, “a big step forward for marriage equality”.
2019年情人节当天，日本四个城市的13对同性伴侣提起诉讼。他们的诉讼案件很简单：他们认为自己的伴侣关系与异性伴侣并无区别，而日本政府对同性婚姻的拒绝承认违反了其宪法平等对待所有人的承诺。本周，位于日本主要岛屿最北端的北海道的一个地方法院决定支持发起诉讼的三对同性伴侣，这是日本法院首次做出这样的裁决。正如法庭外支持者举着的标语所宣称的那样，这是“婚姻平等的一大进步”。
Yet it is also, for the time being, only a symbolic one. The three-judge panel declared that preventing the couples from marrying contradicted Article 14 of the constitution, which forbids discrimination on the basis of race, creed, sex, social status or family origin. Yet it also refused to award damages to the plaintiffs, arguing that public opinion was evolving quickly, and that the government should be given time to legislate on the matter.
然而，这样的标语就目前而言也只是象征性的。三名法官组成的合议庭宣布，阻止伴侣结婚违反了《宪法》第14条，即禁止基于种族、信仰、性别、社会地位或家庭出身的歧视。但法院也拒绝向原告赔偿损失，他们认为公众舆论正在迅速演变，应该给予政府时间就此事进行立法。
Neither the constitution nor any laws explicitly ban same-sex marriages. Some local governments issue documents certifying same-sex partnerships, which can simplify hunts for flats and visits to partners in hospital. But the national government does not acknowledge these, depriving gay couples of certain benefits of marriage. That leaves Japan out of step with other rich countries—it is the only G7 member that does not recognise same-sex unions.
日本宪法和任何法律都没有明确禁止同性婚姻。一些地方政府签发同性伴侣关系证明文件，从而可使寻找住房以及探视住院伴侣的流程简化。但是国家政府并不承认同性伴侣关系，还剥夺了同性夫妇婚姻的某些福利。这使得日本与其他富裕国家步调相悖，成为七国集团（G7）中唯一不承认同性结合的成员国。
