Japan

World Voices

Added on: 05/14/2021

Haru Ono – Family Rainbow, Japan

Kate Efron and Manae Yamaguchi

Alturi Contributors

Thanks so much for joining us, Ms. Ono. I would like to begin by asking you, ‘‘How did you get involved in LGBTQ+ activism?’’ Could you please…

Global News

Added on: 05/12/2021

Japan’s Ruling Party LGBT Bill Falls Short

05/07/2021

Over the past six years, activists in Japan have pressed the Diet, the national parliament, to introduce a nondiscrimination law that protects the rights of lesbian, gay,…

Global News

Added on: 04/28/2021

Tokyo 2020 chief visits LGBTQ centre to emphasise diversity

04/27/2021

Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto visited Japan’s first permanent LGBTQ centre on Tuesday and emphasised Tokyo Olympic organisers’ commitment to facilitating the public’s understanding of issues surrounding…

Global News

Added on: 04/09/2021

Panel of Japan’s ruling LDP to seek early passage of law on LGBT understanding

04/08/2021

A ruling party committee said Thursday that it will aim to enact a law to promote understanding of sexual minorities during the ongoing session of the Diet,…

Global News

Added on: 04/08/2021

Legalising same-sex marriage in Japan

04/08/2021

Last month, a Japanese district court for the first time ruled that not allowing same-sex couples to marry is unconstitutional. The verdict by the Sapporo District Court…

Global News

Added on: 04/05/2021

Nearly 60% of Japan municipalities say current LGBT system inadequate

04/05/2021

Fifty-nine percent of 87 local governments that have introduced, or plan to introduce, a same-sex partnership system feel that Japan’s current system for sexual minorities is inadequate,…

Global News

Added on: 04/02/2021

Japan granted 93 foreigners permission to bring their same-sex spouse

03/26/2021

At least 93 foreigners residing in Japan were granted permission to bring their same-sex spouses to the country under a special visa between 2013 and 2020, the…

Global News

Added on: 03/28/2021

LGBT groups seeking equality law in Japan before Olympics

3/23/21

Activists submitted a petition with over 106,000 signatures to Japan’s ruling party Thursday, calling for an LGBT equality law to be enacted before the Tokyo Games, saying…

Global News

Added on: 03/19/2021

A Boost to Same-Sex Marriage in Japan

03/18/2021

It was quite something to see a district court judge break into tears as she read her verdict declaring the denial of marriage registration to same-sex couples…

Global News

Added on: 03/18/2021

In landmark ruling, Japan court says it is ‘unconstitutional’ to bar same-sex marriage

03/16/2021

A Japanese court ruled on Wednesday that not allowing same-sex couples to get married is “unconstitutional,” setting a precedent in the only G7 nation not to fully…

Global News

Added on: 01/27/2021

Japan: Introduce LGBT Equality Act before Olympics: 116 Groups Urge Prime Minister Suga to Take Action

01/26/2021

(Tokyo) – Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga of Japan should commit to introducing a law to protect against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity,…

Global News

Added on: 01/03/2021

People changing registered gender rising at record pace in Japan

1/3/2021

A total of 948 people altered their officially registered gender in Japan in 2019, the highest number since a law was enforced more than a decade ago…

Global News

Added on: 12/27/2020

38% of LGBT people in Japan sexually harassed or assaulted: survey

12/27/2020

Nearly 40 percent of sexual minority people in Japan have been sexually harassed or assaulted, a private survey involving more than 10,000 respondents showed Saturday. The survey…

Global News

Added on: 12/17/2020

Homophobia Is Not an Asian Value. It’s Time for the East to Reconnect to Its Own Traditions of Tolerance

12/17/2020

Tan Seng Kee, a 62-year-old retired doctor and LGBTQ+ activist, recently filed a motion in Singapore’s High Court, asking it to order the city-state’s cabinet to revoke…

Global News

Added on: 12/13/2020

Banker-turned-priest leads ancient Buddhist sect to 21st century

12/13/2020

Located near the defunct Tsukiji Market, once one of the largest fish markets in the world, Tsukiji Hongwanji temple is the icon of the Jodo Shinshu sect…

Global News

Added on: 12/11/2020

FOCUS: Genderless uniforms spread in Japan as LGBT students gain notice

12/10/2020

A growing number of Japanese prefectural high schools are relaxing or scrapping gender codes for uniforms to meet the needs of transgender and other sexual-minority students, with…

Global News

Added on: 11/29/2020

Man reaches settlement with Tokyo company after boss outed him as gay

11/29/2020

A gay man in his 20s has reached a rare out-of-court settlement with the company he used to work for after a superior revealed his sexual orientation…

Global News

Added on: 10/30/2020

Queer Japan Shows the Asian Nation’s ‘LGBT Boom’ in New Trailer

10/29/2020

A new documentary, directed by Graham Kolbeins, explores the LGBTQ+ culture in Tokyo and other regions through the eyes of its leading out figures. Kolbeins, along with…

Global News

Added on: 10/17/2020

Japan: Calls grow to include LGBT couples in national census

10/16/2020

Advocacy groups and members of the LGBT community are calling on the central government to count the number of LGBT couples in the national census so they…

Global News

Added on: 10/15/2020

LGBT groups in Japan launch petition seeking equality law

10/14/2020

Sexual minority groups and human rights activists launched a petition on Thursday calling for an LGBT equality law in Japan in hopes that it can be enacted…

Global News

Added on: 10/11/2020

Sexual minorities still struggling five years after LGBT ordinance

10/10/2020

Miho Okada experienced the frustrating limits of measures introduced to protect the rights of same-sex couples when her lesbian partner was hospitalized with advanced rectal cancer in…

Global News

Added on: 10/08/2020

Tokyo politician under fire after blaming LGBT community for falling birth rate

10/07/2020

A local politician of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has come under fire for claiming last month that his north Tokyo ward would “cease to exist” if…

Global News

Added on: 09/28/2020

Gender equality in Japan gets a push from young activists

09/27/2020

Ayano Sakurai believes that the Japanese government’s policy on gender equality needs more feedback from people of her generation who face wide-ranging gender-related challenges in their daily…

Global News

Added on: 09/08/2020

Tokyo To Set Up Pride House To Highlight LGBTQ Rights Ahead Of Olympic Games

09/08/2020

Ahead of the postponed Olympic Games in 2021, Tokyo will open Pride House, Japan’s first permanent such centre, in October to raise awareness of LGBTQ rights before…

Global News

Added on: 09/07/2020

Japan’s anti-outing efforts falling short, LGBT advocates say

09/06/2020

Advocates are calling for Japan to create national legislation to protect LGBT individuals from being outed, as the current piecemeal approach is failing to tackle the damaging…

Global News

Added on: 08/31/2020

Sapporo and Osaka allow LGBT partners to get victim support money

08/31/2020

SAPPORO – Sapporo and Osaka have made lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender couples in officially recognized partnerships eligible to receive support money if they are victims of…

Global News

Added on: 08/30/2020

Japan monk and makeup artist empowering sexual minorities, celebrating diversity’s beauty

08/29/2020

A monk who also works as a makeup artist is celebrating their own sexual diversity and spreading the message in Japan that different is beautiful. Kodo Nishimura,…

Global News

Added on: 08/27/2020

Uproar as same-sex couples to be counted as ‘other relatives’ in Japan census

08/26/2020

A national census, conducted once every five years, will be held this fall to collect information from all residents and households in Japan, but same-sex couples are…

Global News

Added on: 08/13/2020

UNDER OLYMPIAN PRESSURE: LGBT RIGHTS IN JAPAN

08/12/2020

The long-awaited Japan 2020 Olympics is finally in full swing— or it would be if the COVID-19 pandemic hadn’t forced the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to postpone…

Global News

Added on: 07/24/2020

Japan: Pass Equality Act Before Olympics

07/23/2020

Japan’s government should pass the Equality Act ahead of next year’s Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, Human Rights Watch, Athlete Ally, and Japan Alliance for LGBT Legislation (J-ALL)…