Japanese has a reason to celebrate last 19 June after their court ruled that the country's ban on same-sex marriage does not violate the constitution. The court also rejected demands for compensation by three couples who said their right to free union and equality has been violated.
The Osaka District Court ruling is the second decision on the issue, and disagrees with a ruling last year by a Sapporo court that found the ban on same-sex marriages unconstitutional. It underscores how divisive the issue remains in Japan, the only member of the Group of Seven major industrialized nations that does not recognize same-sex unions.
The case is only the second of its kind to be heard in the country, where conservative attitudes towards homosexuality remain.
In addition, the court noted that there had not been enough public debate about same-sex marriage and that "it may be possible to create a new system" recognising the interests of same-sex couples.
"From the perspective of individual dignity, it can be said that it is necessary to realise the benefits of same-sex couples being publicly recognised through official recognition," the court said in its ruling.
"Public debate on what kind of system is appropriate for this has not been thoroughly carried out."
Rights groups had pushed for passage of an equality act ahead of last summer's Tokyo Olympics, when international attention was focused on Japan, but the bill was quashed by the conservative governing party.
Under current rules in Japan, same-sex couples cannot inherit each other's property, house or other assets they share, and have no parental rights over each other's children. They are often barred from renting apartments together, and from hospital visits and other services available to married couples.
More than 200 municipalities across Japan, or 12 percent of the total, have begun issuing non-legally binding partnership certificates to same-sex couples since Tokyo's Shibuya district became the first to do so in 2015.