TOKYO, June 8 (Reuters) - Japan's Fukuoka District Court ruled on Thursday that not allowing same-sex marriage was "in a state of unconstitutionality" in a complicated ruling that fell short of marriage-equality activists' expectations.
The ruling came a week after another district court said it was unconstitutional to not allow same-sex marriage, bolstering hopes of the LGBTQ community in Japan, the only Group of Seven nation without legal protection for same-sex unions.
Five rulings on same-sex marriage have now been handed down around Japan - two saying bans on it are unconstitutional and one saying they were not.
A Tokyo ruling upheld the ban on same-sex marriage but said a lack of legal protection for same-sex families violated their human rights.
Opinion polls show about 70% of the public supports same-sex marriage, but the conservative ruling party of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida opposes it.
Persons:
Fumio Kishida, Kishida, Elaine Lies, Chang, Ran Kim, GErry Doyle
Organizations:
Japan's, Partners, Thomson
Locations:
TOKYO, Japan's Fukuoka, Japan, Tokyo, United States