Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a question-and-answer session at the Upper House Budget Committee in the Diet on Dec. 17. (Takeshi Iwashita)

Although Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said that recognizing same-sex marriage would have a positive impact on society, he remains hesitant to commit to legislative action.

“Personally, I think it would make the nation happier,” Ishiba said on Dec. 17 at the Upper House Budget Committee.

“I have met concerned individuals, and I can see that being together is the most precious thing to them,” he said.

The prime minister made these remarks in response to a question from Ryuhei Kawada of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.

Kawada’s question follows a Fukuoka High Court ruling on Dec. 13 that declared the current laws, which do not recognize same-sex marriage, unconstitutional.

The ruling was the third high court decision of its kind and the first to state that the laws violate Article 13 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to pursue happiness.

“I am aware that there are people with various opinions,” Ishiba said.

“While there is no ‘scale’ for measuring the national happiness, I believe that fulfilling these deepest wishes would have a positive and beneficial impact on the overall well-being of Japan,” he added.

Despite Ishiba’s expressed sympathy for same-sex couples, his conservative Liberal Democratic Party has been blocking parliamentary debates on legalizing same-sex marriage.

“It is closely related to family values. We need to pay close attention to the developments of relevant lawsuits,” Ishiba said on Dec. 4 in response to questions from another CDP lawmaker.

Japan remains the only member of the Group of Seven developed democracies yet to legalize same-sex unions.

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