Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a rare meeting with LGBTQ groups, as pressure grows on him to introduce legislation protecting the rights of the community before hosting the Group of Seven summit in May.
(Bloomberg) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a rare meeting with LGBTQ groups, as pressure grows on him to introduce legislation protecting the rights of the community before hosting the Group of Seven summit in May.
The premier tasked one of his advisers with advancing understanding of LGBT issues, and apologized Friday to representatives of three activist groups for discriminatory remarks made by a former aide earlier this month, which sparked a backlash.
“It was extremely inappropriate and I apologize sincerely for causing discomfort,” Kishida told visitors including Gon Matsunaka of Pride House Japan. “We must respect diversity and make efforts to aim for a society where people can enjoy various ways of life.”
The scandal over the comments has drawn fresh attention to Japan’s policies on same-sex marriage and civil rights protections for the LGBTQ community, which lag those in most developed democracies. Kishida has called for “extreme caution” in considering whether to allow same-sex marriage.
The Japanese government’s stance is drawing criticism as it kicks off its stint as head of the G-7, an event the premier has billed as a chance to show “to show the world the charms” of the country. Business groups have said the lack of a same-sex marriage provision affects their ability to recruit global talent and Kishida has faced calls in parliament from opposition lawmakers to make changes.
“When they visit for G-7, what will foreign officials like US Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who is openly gay, make of the prime minister’s aides saying they don’t even want to look at them?” asked Yuichi Kamiya, the head of the Japan Alliance for LGBT Legislation at a briefing Thursday.
He was referring to comments by Masayoshi Arai, who was dismissed as a secretary to the premier this month after telling reporters in an off-the-record briefing he didn’t want to look at sexual minorities or have them live next door to him.
At last year’s summit in Germany, Kishida signed up to a G-7 communique affirming “shared values” with the other members and committing to “ensuring that everyone – independent of their gender identity or expression or sexual orientation – has the same opportunities and is protected against discrimination and violence.”
Nevertheless, Japan remains the only country in the group not to recognize same-sex unions, and doesn’t have legislation banning discrimination against the LGBTQ community. While a cross-party group is debating legislation on “promoting understanding,” the discussion has already hit disagreement over whether the bill should prohibit discrimination.
Meanwhile, polls show that public opinion has shifted in favor of allowing same-sex marriage. A survey conducted by Kyodo News this month found almost two-thirds approved of the change, while another by national broadcaster NHK found 54% of respondents in favor.
In a news conference Wednesday, US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said he had “full confidence” that Japan’s parliament would reflect the will of the public and “take the steps to be a clear and unambiguous voice not only for tolerance but against discrimination.”
–With assistance from Takashi Hirokawa.
(Updates throughout following meeting.)
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