December 3, 2025

Japanese Communist Party Executive Committee Chair Tamura Tomoko participated in a rally calling for the legalization of same-sex marriage held at the House of Representatives Members’ Office Building on December 2, along with Dietmembers from other political parties.

Organized by the group “Marriage for All, Japan”, the rally took place in response to six high court rulings in cases in which sexual minorities had sued the state, claiming that the provisions in the Civil Code and Family Register Act which prohibit marriage between people of the same registered gender are in violation of the Constitution.

Except for the “constitutional” decision issued by the Tokyo High Court in the second round of the lawsuit, all the other rulings recognized the prohibition of same-sex marriage as “unconstitutional”.

Tamura at the rally said, “We shouldn’t distract ourselves from the suffering and discrimination endured by same-sex couples who have been excluded from the legal system.”

She continued, “We’ll fulfill our legislative responsibility by learning from the Tokyo High Court ruling as a cautionary example. We’ll also stand alongside all those directly affected in order to ensure that the Supreme Court issues a fair ruling.”

Plaintiffs’ lawyers noted that even the Tokyo High Court which upheld the ban as constitutional pointed out that the Diet has not yet begun considering reviewing domestic laws to address the issue. They demanded that the Diet swiftly legalize same-sex marriage.

One of the plaintiffs in the Tokyo second-round lawsuit said, “I hope the day comes soon when I can laugh in true freedom together with my partner.”

Past related articles:
> Just because Takaichi becomes first female prime minister of Japan does not mean that she will work to advance gender equality [October 26, 2025]
> JCP requests gov’t to reflect CEDAW recommendations on its basic plan for gender equality [March 6, 2025]