Quote:The Osaka High Court on Tuesday became the fifth high court in Japan to rule that the country's lack of legal recognition of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, but it upheld a lower court decision not to award damages.

The latest ruling, in line with those of the Sapporo, Tokyo, Fukuoka and Nagoya high courts, overturned the Osaka District Court's judgment that the effective ban on same-sex marriage was constitutional.

The Osaka High Court said that civil law provisions that do not allow same-sex marriage violate the right to equality under the Constitution.

Quote:Japan's civil law and family registration law provisions are based on marriage between a man and a woman, and the privileges that result from matrimony, including inheritance rights, tax benefits and joint custody of children, are only granted to heterosexual couples.

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Japan remains the only Group of Seven country not to have legalized same-sex marriage or civil unions, despite growing pressure from the LGBT community and its supporters.

Quote:Japan remains the only Group of Seven country not to have legalized same-sex marriage or civil unions, despite growing pressure from the LGBT community and its supporters.