| Basic information | Substance of the ruling | Accessibility of the case and further relevant links | |||||||
| Date | Name of the case (or case number) | The body delivering the decision | Keywords, topic | Executive part | Brief summary | Full text | Page at the website of the issuing court | Page in other databases | Unofficial materials, press communications |
| October 5. 2023. | High Court of Tokio | Discrimination; freedom to conduct a business | The High Court of Tokio held that the exclusion of sexual services from Covid-19 subsidy program was constitutional. | A company running a sex business in Tokio applied for Covid-19 subsidy program of the Japanese Government, but excluded from this scheme because such services undermine public morality. The company argued that social attitudes towards sexual services are changing, and the argumentation based on public morals shall not be valid anymore, therefore, the decision of the Government was discriminatory. The High Court acknowledged the diversification of sexual values in the society, however, it was considered, that negative social assumptions related to sexual services are still relevant, therefore, the governmental measure was legitimate and did not amount to discrimination. For this reason, the claim of the company was dismissed. | https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20231006/p2a/00m/0na/027000c | ||||
| May 16. 2022. | District Court of Tokio | Freedom to conduct a business | The District Court of Tokio considered that an early-closure order for restaurants by the Municipality of Tokio did not violate the Constitution but it was illegal as its necessity was not convincingly demonstrated. | The Municipality of Tokio ordered that restaurants should be closed earlier due to the public health concerns caused by the global pandemic. A restaurant chain did not comply with this order, therefore, the Municipality fined the restaurant chain to ensure its compliance. The Restaurant chain attacked this decision before the judiciary, but the claim was dismissed by the District Court of Tokio. The Court held that the order of the Municipality was not in conflict with the Constitution, therefore, financial damages should not be paid for the applicant. However, the measure was illegal because its necessity was not convincingly demonstrated; future decisions of municipalities to order business closures on public health grounds should be carefully tailored and strongly justified. |
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/05/16/national/crime-legal/japan-covid-measures-illegal-ruling/; https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14623205 |
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