Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida dismissed a secretary from his position after remarks criticizing same-sex marriage, Kyodo News reported.
(Bloomberg) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida dismissed a secretary from his position after remarks criticizing same-sex marriage, Kyodo News reported.
Kishida was responsible for the aide’s appointment and took the matter “very seriously,” the agency reported, citing comments the premier made at a press briefing on Saturday.
This dismissal followed an interview on Friday by the aide, Masayoshi Arai, in which he said he wouldn’t “want to see” same-sex marriages or “want to live next to them.”
Kishida rebuked Arai when announcing the dismissal, saying that his comments were “outrageous and completely out of line with the Cabinet’s concept of respecting diversity and realizing an inclusive society,” Kyodo reported.
Japan is the only G-7 country that doesn’t have a legal system for same-sex unions, with Kishida recently rebuffing calls for same-sex marriage in parliament.
Japan’s Kishida Rebuffs Calls for Marriage Equality Ahead of G-7
(Corrects spelling of aide’s name in third paragraph)
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