The Supreme Court has, for the first time, indicated that bereavement benefits provided by the government to support the families of crime victims could also be extended to same-sex partners, depending on the couple’s relationship and cohabitation situation.

This judicial decision on a lawsuit filed by the gay partner of a man killed in a crime marks a step forward in protecting the rights of same-sex couples.

The plaintiff, a man who had lived with his partner for about 20 years, applied for the same benefits granted to bereaved family members of crime victims after his partner was murdered in 2014.

But his application was denied on the basis that the victim was of the same sex, leading him to bring the case to the court.

The benefits in question are paid not only to spouses, children and close relatives of crime victims but also to partners who were in a committed relationship with victims that was effectively marital relations. 

However, both the district and high courts that heard the case rejected the plaintiff’s claim on the grounds that relationships between individuals of the same sex were not covered by the program.

The Supreme Court's decision on March 26 clarified that partners in a de facto marriage are eligible for the benefits because, like spouses, they need support to alleviate the mental and economic impacts of their partner's death as a crime victim.

It stated that the necessity for relief in such cases does not automatically differ based on whether the cohabiting partner is of the same or opposite sex.

People cannot choose whether they love a person of the same or opposite sex.

”The pain of losing a partner to murder doesn't change whether they are the opposite or same sex. I thought it unfair that (same-sex partners) are treated differently," the plaintiff said at a news conference after the verdict, expressing a sentiment likely shared by anyone in a similar situation.

The Aichi Prefectural Public Safety Commission, which decided not to grant the benefits solely because the victim and applicant were of the same sex, must reconsider its stance.

There might be other cases where similar decisions were made or applications for the benefits were not accepted in other prefectures.

While this ruling directly affects only the future administration of the crime victim bereavement benefits program, there are more than 200 legal systems for benefit payments that treat de facto marriage partners as eligible.

These systems include the survivor’s pension program and the special pension program for the bereaved families of victims of work-related diseases and accidents.

Ministries and agencies responsible for these benefits and services need to reconsider whether automatically excluding same-sex partners from eligibility remains acceptable in light of this judgment.

However, even if the trend toward granting such benefits to same-sex couples continues to grow in the coming years, the fact remains that such couples will be treated only as being in a “de facto marriage.”

That means they will be excluded from the many benefits granted to legally married couples, such as tax breaks. In other words, adjustments to the rules concerning benefit payments cannot substitute for the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Regarding the provisions in the Civil Code and Family Register Law that do not recognize same-sex marriage, the Sapporo High Court earlier this month declared them unconstitutional in the first appeals court ruling in a cascade of lawsuits challenging whether these provisions are compatible with the Constitution.

Considering the need to deliver public services fairly to those in need, further delays in the legislative debate on the legalization of same-sex marriage are unacceptable.

--The Asahi Shimbun, March 28