Japanese LGBTQ people and rights groups condemned a recent discriminatory comment by a senior adviser to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, demanding that his government enact laws to ban discrimination against sexual minorities, legalize same-sex marriage and ensure equality. of rights before Japan hosts a Group of Seven summit. In May.
His comments at a news conference on Tuesday followed comments last week from Kishida’s aide Masayoshi Arai, who was fired after telling reporters he would not want to live alongside LGBTQ people and that citizens would flee Japan if same-sex marriage is allowed.
Despite Kishida’s swift dismissal of Arai, a comment the prime minister made early last week raised questions about his intentions towards sexual minorities.
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Responding to a question from an opposition lawmaker in parliament, Kishida said allowing same-sex marriage is “an issue that needs to be looked at very carefully.” A decision requires a deep examination of the whole society “because the issue can change the concept of family and values, as well as society,” she said.
At Tuesday’s press conference, LGBTQ activists and their supporters said that while Arai’s comments showed outright bias against sexual minorities, Kishida’s misleading comments suggested his reluctance to address the issue despite his earlier promise to create an inclusive and diverse society.
Yuichi Kamiya, executive director of the Japan Alliance for LGBT Legislation, speaks during a news conference on February 7, 2023 in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
“The discriminatory remarks by the assistant prime minister made it clear to the rest of the world that Japan is a country that does not care about the rights of sexual minorities,” said Takako Uesugi, a lawyer and director of Marriage For All Japan, an organization campaigning for the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Noting that Japan is the only member of the Group of Seven advanced industrial countries without a law protecting the rights of sexual minorities, he said: “We must say that Japan is not in a position to lead the G-7 summit if we left the situation unaddressed.” .”
They demanded that the government immediately start the process of legalizing same-sex marriage, establish a task force to study ways to guarantee the rights of sexual minorities, appoint an assistant prime minister who specializes in the rights of sexual minorities and include statistics on them. -Sex couples in the national census.
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Support for sexual diversity has grown slowly in Japan, and legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are still lacking. They often face discrimination at school, work, and at home, causing many to hide their sexual identity.
In recent years, more than 200 local municipalities, including Tokyo, have introduced marriage certificates for same-sex couples that allow them to rent apartments and sign documents in medical emergencies and inheritances. Still, the certificates are not legally binding, and same-sex couples are often barred from visiting each other in hospital and from accessing other services available to married couples.
Campaigns for equal rights for sexual minorities have faced resistance from conservatives in Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party. The party quashed an attempt to enact an equality awareness law ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
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Amid national outrage over Arai’s comments, party general secretary Toshimitsu Motegi said he planned to start preparing legislation to promote awareness of LGBTQ rights, but some conservatives have already shown resistance. A group of nonpartisan lawmakers also said they hope to enact an equality law by the G-7 summit.
The activists noted that Japan signed the communiqué of the G-7 Elmau summit in June, which calls for “the full, equal and meaningful participation of women and girls in all their diversity, as well as LGBTIQ+ people in politics.” , the economy, education and all other spheres of society”. “
“Kishida’s lack of effort to establish legal protection amounts to promoting discrimination,” said Soshi Matsuoka, an activist who launched an online petition for laws promoting anti-discrimination and equal rights that has received more than 40,000 signatures since Sunday.
