in April 2020, the deputy head abbot of Kawagoe's Saimyouji temple, announced that he would perform same-sex marriage ceremonies. Since 15 May 2012, Tokyo Disney Resort has allowed symbolic (not legally recognized) same-sex marriage ceremonies in its Cinderella's Castle hotel. Its first same-sex marriage was held on March 3, 2013, between Koyuki Higashi and her partner Hiroko Masuhara. In March 2019, the Justice Ministry revoked a deportation order for a gay Taiwanese man who had remained in Japan illegally after overstaying his visa, giving consideration to his longtime same-sex relationship with a Japanese national. The ministry issued a special residence permit to the man, who had lived in Japan for about 25 years. The ministry's Immigration Bureau granted him a one-year resident visa after the Tokyo District Court suggested that it review the order. Constitution Article 24 of the Japanese Constitution states: "Marriage shall be based only on the mutual consent of both sexes and it shall be maintained through mutual cooperation with the equal rights of husband and wife as a basis." Previously, a couple in Japan could marry only if their respective head of household (the father, or in the absence of a father, the eldest son) consented to the union. As a result, arranged marriage was the dominant form of marriage. Those couples who could not obtain permission had to elope and stay in common-law marriage. The purpose of Article 24 of the Constitution was to assert freedom of consenting adults to marry, and to explicitly establish the equality of both sexes in marriage. Some legal scholars argue that because the intent behind the article was not in reference to same-sex marriage, it need not apply in legalising same-sex marriage. However, conservative lawmakers as well as legal scholars who take a literal approach to constitutional interpretation argue that such an argument is a stretch. In February 2015, the National Diet debated whether same-sex marriage should be recognized under the Constitution. Kota Matsuda, a member of the House of Councillors, said, "We need to eliminate lifestyle difficulties for same-sex couples. A prerequisite to achieving this goal is dealing with Article 24 of the Constitution." Prime Minister Shinzō Abe expressed his opinion on the issue: "Extending the institution of marriage to same-sex couples was not anticipated under the current Constitution. It is an issue that concerns the very core of family values and, I believe, one that requires extremely