TOKYO: A Japanese district court on Wednesday (Mar 17) ruled that not allowing same-sex couples to marry is "unconstitutional", setting a new precedent in the only G7 nation not to fully recognise same-sex partnership, though it rejected demands for damages to be paid.The ruling, the first in Japan on the legality of same-sex marriages, is a major symbolic victory in a country where the Constitution defines marriage as being based on "the mutual consent of both sexes".As it currently stands, same-sex couples cannot inherit their partner's assets - such as the house they may have shared - and also have no parental rights to any children their partners may have.Though partnership certificates issued by individual municipalities around the.