A district court in the southwestern Japanese city of Fukuoka ruled on Thursday that the East Asian country’s ban on same-sex marriage is “in a state of unconstitutionality.” With the Fukuoka court’s decision, the rulings on five lawsuits brought by same-sex couples in 2019 on marriage equality have all been handed down: now three local courts have ruled that the ban is not constitutional, while two have said it is (though, while a Tokyo court upheld the ban, it added that the lack of a legal system for same-sex couples to become family members violates their human rights). [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Those judgments, plus the overwhelming public opinion favoring same-sex unions, should put additional pressure on Japan’s lawmakers to end the ban and fully legislate marriage equality.