Ishiba, speaking before the Diet personally on Tuesday, said that while he believes same-sex unions would “make the nation happier”, he does not plan to introduce legislation granting equal marriage rights.

The prime minister was speaking just days after a third high court ruled that Japan’s failure to legally recognize same-sex marriages breached the constitution and, in a legal first, declared those provisions in the civil code contravened Article 13, which guarantees “the pursuit of happiness”.

To campaigners like Alexander Dmitrenko, a partner in the Tokyo office of the Ashurst multinational law firm and co-chair of the Lawyers for LGBT & Allies Network NPO, Ishiba’s comments are a sign that the resistance to marriage equality in Japan is crumbling and the right will be enshrined in law sooner rather than later.

“Compared to other prime ministers, there is a big difference in Ishiba’s tone, his direction and his outlook and we are clearly getting to the stage for Japan to take the next step in the right direction on marriage equality,” Dmitrenko told This Week in Asia.

“I interpret Ishiba’s comments this week very positively.”