{"id":11721,"date":"2019-02-18T15:31:04","date_gmt":"2019-02-18T09:46:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pahichan.com\/?p=11721"},"modified":"2019-02-18T15:31:04","modified_gmt":"2019-02-18T09:46:04","slug":"the-conservative-politician-fighting-for-gay-rights-in-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/the-conservative-politician-fighting-for-gay-rights-in-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"The conservative politician fighting for gay rights in Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kathmandu (Pahichan) February 18 – Tomomi Inada isn\u2019t trying to get Japan to legalize same-sex marriage, or ban discrimination against gay citizens. The conservative lawmaker just wants to \u201cpromote understanding\u201d of LGBT issues.<\/p>\n

Even that seems too much.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Thirteen gay couples filed Japan’s first lawsuit challenging the country’s rejection of same-sex marriage Thursday, arguing the denial violates their constitutional right to equality.\u00a0\u00a0(CHIKA OHSHIMA\u00a0\/\u00a0THE ASSOCIATED PRESS<\/span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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The former defense minister said she\u2019s unsure she\u2019ll be able to introduce new legislation seeking greater tolerance of same-sex relationships amid opposition from her Liberal Democratic Party colleagues. Members of the ruling party have publicly opposed calls for change in recent months, some warning it would slow the already anemic birth rate.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople asked me if I\u2019d turned left wing,\u201d said Inada, an LDP executive and an adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. \u201cIt\u2019s a tough situation for me, but I think it\u2019s a human rights issue and nothing to do with being conservative or liberal.\u201d<\/p>\n

While other developed countries, including the U.S., Australia and most of western Europe have moved to recognize same-sex marriage, traditionalist Japan has barely budged. Now, business groups are cautioning that the country\u2019s LGBT policies are hurting their hunt for top global talent, and activists argue the situation could become a source of embarrassment when Tokyo hosts the 2020 Summer Olympics.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A group of 13 same-sex couples filed suit Thursday \u2014 Valentine\u2019s Day \u2014 over what they contend is marriage discrimination in Japan. The government\u2019s top spokesperson, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, signaled little interest in change.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether or not we recognize same-sex marriage is a problem that relates to the roots of what a family should be in our country,\u201d Suga told parliament. \u201cSo it\u2019s something that needs to be considered extremely cautiously.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Inada\u2019s lonely battle to pass the legislation shows both how Japanese sensibilities may be changing and how much further advocates have to go. Inada, who led the defense ministry from August 2016 to July 2017, is better known for her justification of Japan\u2019s past colonial expansion across Asia, than for promoting minority rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is so little understanding that some conservatives think recognizing LGBT people will destroy the traditional family, or reduce the birthrate,\u201d Inada, who is one of just 22 women in the 283-member LDP\u2019s lower house caucus, said in an interview last month.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Like elsewhere, Japanese gay rights advocates found increasingly vocal allies among multinational corporations, who see it as a competitive issue for the world\u2019s third-largest economy. A Hong Kong court ruling allowing dependent visas for same-sex spouses last year raised the pressure on places like Tokyo and Singapore.<\/p>\n

The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan \u2014 supported by sister organizations from Australia, Canada, Ireland and the U.K. \u2014 went a step further in September, publishing a policy paper calling for full marriage equality.<\/p>\n

The Japanese public appears more tolerant than the LDP, which has controlled the government for all but four years since 1955. Homosexual relationships were long condoned among the samurai class and Buddhist monks before Japan\u2019s mid-19th century modernization and adoption of \u201cWestern\u201d values.<\/p>\n

Transgender entertainers are among the biggest stars on local TV. \u201cBohemian Rhapsody,\u201d which highlighted the difficulties Queen singer Freddie Mercury faced as a gay man, was the country\u2019s top-grossing movie last year.<\/p>\n

A poll by public broadcaster NHK in 2017 \u2014 the most recent data available \u2014 found 51 percent of respondents believed same-sex marriage should be allowed in Japan. That compared with 41 percent who were opposed.<\/p>\n

Still, some LDP members continue to stoke outrage from the LGBT rights advocates, such as when Katsuei Hirasawa argued in a speech last month that the \u201cnation would collapse\u201d if everyone were gay. Another ruling party lawmaker, Mio Sugita, published a magazine article last year describing gay couples as unproductive because they don\u2019t have children.<\/p>\n

Abe himself said in 2015 that the country\u2019s constitution, which requires the consent of \u201cboth sexes,\u201d didn\u2019t envisage same-sex marriage. While a few local governments issue certificates to same-sex couples to help them overcome difficulties renting homes, or gain next-of-kin status in hospitals, the unions have no legal standing.<\/p>\n

Ai Nakajima, who was among the activists suing for marriage equality Thursday, said she was being unfairly denied the right to live in Japan with her German spouse, Christina Baumann. \u201cTina has no right to live here and can\u2019t get a visa,\u201d Nakajima said.<\/p>\n

The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan has submitted its own bill that would outlaw anti-LGBT discrimination, and is discussing another to allow same-sex marriage, according to Kanako Otsuji, the country\u2019s only openly gay lawmaker. Neither bill can pass at present without support from the ruling party.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ball is in their court,\u201d Otsuji said.<\/p>\n

Inada, a former lawyer, argues the constitutional wording was intended to give people the right to marry without securing the head of household\u2019s permission, not to exclude same-sex couples. For now, she\u2019s focused on fostering a dialogue between gay rights advocates and the ruling party.<\/p>\n

\u201cI invited members of the LGBT community to LDP headquarters for discussions,\u201d Inada said. \u201cWhen I asked them if they\u2019d ever visited before, they said they had \u2014 but only to protest outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source : The Star<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kathmandu (Pahichan) February 18 – Tomomi Inada isn\u2019t trying to get Japan to legalize same-sex marriage, or ban discrimination against gay citizens. The conservative lawmaker just wants to \u201cpromote understanding\u201d of LGBT issues.
\nEven that seems too much.<\/p>\n

Thirteen gay couples filed Japan’s first lawsuit challenging the country’s rejection of same-sex marriage Thursday, arguing the denial violates their constitutional right to equality.\u00a0\u00a0(CHIKA OHSHIMA\u00a0\/\u00a0THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)<\/p>\n

The former defense minister said she\u2019s unsure she\u2019ll be able to introduce new legislation seeking greater tolerance of same-sex relationships amid opposition from her Liberal Democratic Party colleagues. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":11722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,621,490,11],"tags":[524,588],"class_list":["post-11721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-issue","category-news","category-slider","category-world","tag-lgbt","tag-same-sex-marriage"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11721"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11721\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11723,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11721\/revisions\/11723"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}