(Photo Credit: Reuters/Toru Hanai)
Taiga Ishikawa Makes History As First Gay Japanese Lawmaker
Japan’s first openly LGBTQ+ male lawmaker, Taiga Ishikawa, 45, was elected to parliament’s upper house on Sunday. His platform calls for marriage equality, believing that the country would legalize same-sex marriage after Taiwan became the first place in Asia to allow gay unions.
In an interview with Thomson Reuters Foundation, Ishikawa said that during his term of six years, he would be working towards the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Although Japan’s laws on LGBTQ+ issues are relatively liberal, with homosexual sex being legal since 1880, being openly gay remains largely taboo in the country. Same-sex marriage currently remains illegal, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has opposed efforts to legalize it. However, Japanese couples can marry in other countries where same-sex marriage is legal.
Abe even voiced his opposition to same-sex marriage in a televised party leader debate ahead of the election, saying that he still has the strongest party, which opposes marriage equality.
Abe also cited that same-sex marriage would affect the foundation of how families should be in Japan.
However, despite the political opposition, a survey by Japanese advertising giant Dentsu found that 78 percent of people between the ages of 20 to 60 are in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage.
By: Maytinee Kramer
