Sometimes, Change is Rapid
Sometimes, you need to plan another wedding in Japan.
Just five minutes ago, I was planning to get into the weeds on Japanese politics, reviewing the results of the House of Representatives—Japan’s government, a body known as the Diet (as in the Diet of Worms for all you religious history fans) is bicameral, the House of Councillors will have an election on or before July of 2025.
I will be honest. It was nice to see some positive, progressive things result from an election (with a three-week campaign period—wouldn’t that be lovely?) somewhere else. The upcoming election here in the US (and yes, I voted) is stressing many Americans out, myself included, and the chance to look at results in a rainbow of different party colors. There are currently ten political parties in Japan, although only five have at least the minimum number of representatives (21) to bring forward legislation.
The weeds, they beckon…
Here is a short take on why I celebrated Japan’s election.
The ruling right party, ironically named the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), lost sixty-eight seats, from 259 to 191, and, together with their most recent coalition partner, Komeito (literally translated as the Party of Fairness and Clarity), also on the political right and the political branch of a Buddhist cult, lost the House majority. There are 465 seats in the House of Representatives, and 233 seats are needed for a majority government. Komeito dropped from 32 seats to 24, losing the seat held by their latest party leader, too.
Among the many LDP losers last weekend were a lot of hard-right homophobes.
Surveys indicate that the number of Diet representatives supporting marriage equality is now in the majority. But…
A new coalition has yet to take shape. The LPD and Komeito have been working to form a minority coalition with the Democratic Party for the People (DPFP), which went from 11 seats to 28 (and can, therefore, bring legislation). Even though DPFP is center-right, those negotiations are bumpy.
A center-left party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), increased its seat count from 96 to 148, and there were hopes that they could form a grand opposition coalition, uniting all the non-LDP and non-Komeito parties. That seems unlikely, however.
One potential outcome of the election results is that Shigeru Ishiba, a popular (he out-polls his own party) center-left politician who was voted LDP party leader in September, may be the shortest reigning prime minister in Japan’s history. DPFP is saying they will vote for Yoshihiko Noda, the leader of the CDP. Much remains to be seen.
Meanwhile…
Marriage equality in Japan scored another victory, this time in the courts.
Some (brief) history.
On Valentine’s Day in 2019, same-sex couples laid cases in four of Japan’s five regional courts, Sapporo, Tōkyō, Nagoya, and Ōsaka. An additional case was brought to the regional court in Fukuoka, and a second case was brought to the Tōkyō regional court in 2021.
Five of those six cases ruled that the lack of legal structures for marriage equality violates Japan’s Constitution. Most of the regional courts cited Article 14, which guarantees equal protection under the law. Some also cited Article 24, which specifically discusses marriage. However, the Ōsaka regional court was the outlier and ruled against the plaintiffs.
All six cases were appealed to the High Court level.
In March of 2024, the Sapporo High Court again ruled that the lack of marriage equality was unconstitutional, violating both Articles 14 and 24.
And again this past week, the Tōkyō High Court echoed that unconstitutional ruling, citing Article 14.
The Fukuoka High Court will rule in December and is expected to find, as the Fukuoka regional court did, in favor of unconstitutionality.
Once the Diet has a working coalition, a marriage equality bill could be brought, but I suspect the Diet will wait for a Supreme Court ruling, expected in either late 2025 or early 2026. Legal analysts in Japan expect the Supreme Court to side with the regional and high court rulings specific to Article 14.
This is a reminder that Japan remains the only member of the G7 without marriage equality, something I wrote in great detail about here.
Speaking of marriage equality (and when am I not?)…
As I settle into the querying pattern for my current memoir, Crying in a Foreign Language, and reach out to more agents and publishers (do you have any agents or publishers you can recommend? Hit the leave a comment button below), it’s time to begin work on the second book.
What’s the next book about? I think I already have an outline of sorts here.
Because marriage equality significantly impacted my life, and because I’ve lived through most of the monumental rulings and legislation both in support of and in opposition to marriage equality, I want to combine my personal stories with those of other couples. Couples who wanted what I wanted: equal protection under the law. The United States Supreme Court has signaled its readiness to overturn rulings like Lawrence v. Texas, Windsor v. United States, and Obergefell v. Hodges, to put an end to equal protection under the law for queer people. Now is the time to think about how those rulings brought joy into our lives (and, therefore, why they should stand).
My working title? Somebody’s Getting Married Today!
Do you have a marriage story to share? I’d love to talk about it with you. Hit the button below, and let’s chat!