2021年经济学人 日本离同性婚姻合法化还有多远(1)

Asia

亚洲板块

Gay marriage in Japan

日本的同性婚姻

Inching forward

缓慢前进

A court endorses¹ gay marriage, but the government remains² opposed

一家法院支持同性婚姻，但政府仍然反对

On Valentine’s Day in 2019, 13 same-sex couples fi?led lawsuits³ in four cities across Japan. Their case was simple: they argued that their partnerships⁴ were no different from those of heterosexual couples, and that the government’s refusal to recognise gay marriage violated the constitution’s promise of equal treatment for all. This week a district court in Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s main islands, came down on the side of the three couples who sued there, the fi?rst such ruling by a Japanese court. It is, as a sign held by supporters outside the courtroom proclaimed, “a big step forward for marriage equality”.

2019年情人节当天，日本四个城市的13对同性伴侣提起诉讼。他们的诉讼案件很简单：他们认为自己的伴侣关系与异性伴侣并无区别，而日本政府对同性婚姻的拒绝承认违反了其宪法平等对待所有人的承诺。本周，位于日本主要岛屿最北端的北海道的一个地方法院决定支持发起诉讼的三对同性伴侣，这是日本法院首次做出这样的裁决。正如法庭外支持者举着的标语所宣称的那样，这是“婚姻平等的一大进步”。

Yet it is also, for the time being, only a symbolic⁵ one. The three-judge panel declared that preventing the couples from marrying contradicted Article 14 of the constitution, which forbids discrimination on the basis of race, creed⁶, sex, social status or family origin. Yet it also refused to award damages to the plaintiff?s, arguing that public opinion was evolving quickly, and that the government should be given time to legislate⁷ on the matter.

然而，这样的标语就目前而言也只是象征性的。三名法官组成的合议庭宣布，阻止伴侣结婚违反了《宪法》第14条，即禁止基于种族、信仰、性别、社会地位或家庭出身的歧视。但法院也拒绝向原告赔偿损失，他们认为公众舆论正在迅速演变，应该给予政府时间就此事进行立法。

Neither the constitution nor any laws explicitly⁸ ban same-sex marriages. Some local governments issue documents certifying⁹ same-sex partnerships, which can simplify hunts for fl?ats and visits to partners in hospital. But the national government does not acknowledge these, depriving gay couples of certain benefi?ts of marriage. That leaves Japan out of step with other rich countries—it is the only G7 member that does not recognise same-sex unions.

日本宪法和任何法律都没有明确禁止同性婚姻。一些地方政府签发同性伴侣关系证明文件，从而可使寻找住房以及探视住院伴侣的流程简化。但是国家政府并不承认同性伴侣关系，还剥夺了同性夫妇婚姻的某些福利。这使得日本与其他富裕国家步调相悖，成为七国集团（G7）中唯一不承认同性结合的成员国。

1 endorses   

v.赞同( endorse的第三人称单数 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• There isn't one country in the Middle East that now endorses the Eisenhower Doctrine. 但至今没有一个中东国家认可它。 来自辞典例句
• Whether any of this truly endorses Dr Patel's hypothesis is moot. 这些视频能否真正证明帕特的假设成立还是个未知数。 来自互联网

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

4 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

5 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

6 creed   

n.信条；信念，纲领

参考例句：

• They offended against every article of his creed.他们触犯了他的每一条戒律。
• Our creed has always been that business is business.我们的信条一直是公私分明。

7 legislate   

vt.制定法律；n.法规，律例；立法

参考例句：

• Therefore,it is very urgent to legislate for the right of privacy.因此，为隐私权立法刻不容缓。
• It's impossible to legislate for every contingency.为每一偶发事件都立法是不可能的。

8 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

9 certifying   

（尤指书面）证明( certify的现在分词 )； 发证书给…； 证明（某人）患有精神病； 颁发（或授予）专业合格证书

参考例句：

• Signed Commercial in quintuplicate, certifying merchandise to be of Chinese origin. 签署商业发票一式五份，证明产品的原产地为中国。
• Other documents certifying the truthfulness of the contents of the advertisements. （三）确认广告内容真实性的其他证明文件。