Plaintiffs hold hands each other after a district court ruled on the legality of same-sex marriages outside Sapporo district court in Sapporo, Hokkaido, northern Japan March 17, 2021, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Of two cases on the issue decided in Japan, one ruled banning same-sex marriage was "unconstitutional" and the other held the opposite. That adds weight to the expected decision by the Tokyo district court - already influential because of the capital's outsized influence on the rest of Japan - as it will establish a trend, lawyers and activists say. Eight people are involved in the case to be decided on Wednesday, saying the ban on same-sex marriage contravenes Japan's constitution and demanding damages of 1 million yen ($7,200) each. Though partnership certificates from municipalities now cover about 60% of the population in Japan, including Tokyo, they do not give same-sex couples the same rights enjoyed by heterosexual couples.

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