On Valentine’s Day, LGBTQ+ activists in Japan call for the right for same-sex couples to marry

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Activists and members of the LGBTQ+ community have handed out colorful chocolate candy for Valentine’s Day in Tokyo, marking the fifth anniversary of the launch of a legal battle to achieve marriage equality for same-sex couples. Japan is the only member of the Group of Seven nations that still excludes same-sex couples from the right to legally marry. Since Feb. 14, 2019, more than a dozen couples have filed lawsuits in six separate cases at five courts across Japan. Four of the five rulings so far have found that not granting the right was unconstitutional, one said it was in line with the constitution while the ruling in the sixth petition is still pending.