ABSTRACT

This article compares same-sex marriage legislation in China and Japan from a new perspective on marriage law.

For many people, the issue of introducing same-sex marriage (or a similar institution) concerns a fundamental part of the identity of Chinese and Japanese society. On the one hand, there is a reluctance to change a traditional social and legal orientation, on the other, there is a desire to include as large a population group as possible in social change.

In both Countries, moreover, marriage is defined in the legal system as an institution between a man and a woman: while in China there are some legislative initiatives to eliminate this requirement, in Japan, a jurisprudential orientation is asserting itself, which wants to rely on the constitutional principles of equality and the pursuit of happiness.