In the run up to Japan’s latest leadership race, frontrunner Taro Kono has announced his support for same sex marriage and has expressed his support for the Japanese government discussing the feasibility of legalising same sex marriage. This has followed the Sapporo District Court of Japan declaring the unconstitutionality of a 1984 law banning same-sex marriage earlier in the year. Is it realistic when the issue has long been controversial within Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party?

