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Robert Nordström (PhD)
@rnords.bsky.social

Publication alert! Newly published paper from @respol.bsky.social . In this new paper, we used a survey experiment to examine effect of Nagoya High Court same-sex marriage ruling effect on Japanese LGBTQ attitudes. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

journals.sagepub.comFrom the courtroom to the public: Judicial influence on People’s attitudes toward same-sex marriage in Japan - Robert Nordström, Sou Shinomoto, Antonio Benasaglio Berlucchi, 2026Can judicial action change public attitudes? While most empirical studies on the societal impact of court rulings have focused on the United States, particularl...
Robert Nordström (PhD)
@rnords.bsky.social

In the paper, we used a mixed natural setting and experimental treatment approach. The natural setting had little effect, but then the results of the ruling was directly was directly communicated to respondents, this increased support for same-sex marriage.

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Robert Nordström (PhD)
@rnords.bsky.social

The survey was conducted from 48 hours before the ruling to 48 hours after the ruling, comparing the responses from respondents who answered before and after the survey. The result of the ruling was that the current ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.

Robert Nordström (PhD)
@rnords.bsky.social

Since the publics attitudes moved in the same direction as the ruling, we interpreted this as supporting the so-called "legitimization" model that court decisions can help legitimize opinions on matters where public attitudes are split.

Robert Nordström (PhD)
@rnords.bsky.social

However, this effect can only be said to be weakly supported, as significant effects could only be seen among those respondents who were explicitly told of the result of the ruling. Still, it is meaningful in seeing how these rulings can influence Japanese attitudes.