Japan elects first openly-gay politician to national parliament

 | 
07/22/2019

Japan on Monday (22 July) elected its first openly-gay politician to the country’s national parliament. LGBTI rights activist turned lawmaker Taiga Ishikawa won a seat for the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) in the Upper House. ‘I was calling for the acknowledgment of LGBT people in the election’ said after his win was announced, according to Asahi Shimbun. ‘A lot of people all over Japan plucked up their courage to vote for me. This acknowledges that we are here.’ Japan has elected at least eight openly-LGBTI politicians to posts in regional councils and parliaments. Conservative Japan does not allow same-sex marriage. National laws do not protect LGBTI people from discrimination. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is notoriously anti-LGBTI. But, the CDPJ has drafted bills to protect LGBTI rights. Ishikawa on Monday, therefore, promised to push ahead with bills affording marriage equality and protecting LGBTI people from discrimination. ‘I would like to do my best to enact both pieces of legislation,’ Ishikawa also said. ‘I want to support vulnerable people in this society as a politician.’

Regions: ,

Share this:

Latest Global News

Added on: 03/28/2024
03/27/2024
Nine men were sentenced to death by a Houthi court in Yemen in a mass trial based on “dubious” charges of sodomy, a human …
Added on: 03/28/2024
03/27/2024
Thailand is set to become the first Southeast Asian nation to recognise equal marriage after politicians passed a same-sex marriage bill. The lower house of …
Added on: 03/28/2024
03/27/2024
In what looks like a deliberate bid to redirect intense public scrutiny away from grave allegations implicating her in a seemingly multibillion-shilling corruption scandal, …

Explore LGBTQ+ Issues

Other News from ,

Added on: 03/28/2024
Nine men were sentenced to death by a Houthi court in Yemen in a mass trial based on “dubious” charges of sodomy, a human …
Added on: 03/28/2024
Thailand is set to become the first Southeast Asian nation to recognise equal marriage after politicians passed a same-sex marriage bill. The lower house of …
Added on: 03/27/2024
Thailand is set to become the first Southeast Asian nation to recognise equal marriage after politicians passed a same-sex marriage bill. The lower house …