The Tokyo High Court on Friday issued the final pending appellate decision in Japan’s nationwide same-sex marriage litigation, holding that the country’s statutory framework limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples does not violate the Constitution of Japan . The court dismissed the plaintiff’s claims of breach of constitutional guarantees to equality and individual dignity. It rejected their request for damages on the basis that no constitutional injury had been established.

The ruling stands in contrast to earlier high court judgments issued between 2021 and 2024. Courts in Sapporo , Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka, and in an earlier Tokyo appeal found aspects of the current marriage framework unconstitutional. Several of those courts held that Article 14(1) of the Constitution p

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