A Japanese woman has been ordered to pay 1,100,000 yen (approximately Rs. 70,000) to a man for having sex with his wife, reports Tokyo Reporter.
According to the reports, a Tokyo district court has ordered a woman to pay 1,100,00 yen as compensation to the husband of a 35-year-old woman with whom she had sex with. The 39-year-old husband had filed a lawsuit against the woman and had accused her of engaging in sexual acts with his wife.
In his petition, the husband had alleged that the two had met online and added they would meet up often to have sex. The husband said to the court though he had consented for his wife to associate with her new lesbian friend, he did not ‘permit’ them to have a sexual relationship.
The 37-year-old woman claimed that her lover’s husband was fully aware of her relationship with his wife. She argued in court that his knowledge of her relationship with his wife caused no such harm in his marriage, and the case cannot be considered infidelity.
Reportedly, the couple got married in the US and lived together for seven years.
Under Japanese law, any person can approach the court against their spouse or partner on grounds of adultery.
Such acts can disrupt harmony and constitute infidelity, rules Japanese court
However, the court ruled in favour of the husband and directed the woman to pay compensation, saying that the law of reduction of peace does not disbelieve the married. The court said that not just sex but also other acts outside of marriage could disrupt harmony and constitute infidelity.
“It was a relationship equivalent to that in which a man and woman come together to lead their lives in cooperation as a married couple,” judge Hitomi Akiyoshi said after asking the lady to pay the fine.
Further, the judge noted, “A same-sex couple is an agreement between two people, and on that basis, it can be said that it bears the same obligations to fidelity that a legally married couple of opposite genders undertakes”.
In a similar case, the Tokyo High Court had earlier ordered a woman to pay compensation to her female partner for cheating on her. The court said a same-sex union should be treated as a marriage in law. Earlier this month, a District Court had ruled that it is ‘unconstitutional’ not to allow same-sex couples to marry. This ruling “was a major symbolic victory in Japan as it does not fully recognise same-sex partnerships.