08-12-2023

Aysu Amaha Öztürk

Japan and Human Rights Researcher 

Global Human Rights Defence

On February 3, 2023, Masayoshi Arai, who is senior adviser of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, made homophobic statements at a news conference (LGBTQ groups demand Japan adopt equal rights law, 2023). He first stated that he would not want to live next to gay people and other sexual minorities. He then went on to say that if same-sex marriage was legal in Japan, citizens would flee to other countries (LGBTQ groups demand Japan adopt equal rights law, 2023). Arai was the person who served as the media adviser of Kishida, meaning that he wrote his speeches and functioned as his focal point for media representatives and platforms (Kishida sacks close aide Arai, 2023). 

Kishida quickly dismissed Arai and later said that Arai’s opinions go against the opinions of the current Japanese administration (Kishida sacks close aide Arai, 2023). However, he later made controversial comments himself, stating that same-sex marriage and its legality as it is an subject that must be examined carefully as it concerns the concept of family and values (LGBTQ groups demand Japan adopt equal rights law, 2023). Following these events, queer activists and their supporters condemned Arai’s statements while also saying that Kishida’s comments are contradictory to his earlier promises to make Japan a more inclusive and diverse space (LGBTQ groups demand Japan adopt equal rights law, 2023). They also asked the government to begin legalizing same-sex marriage, establish a team to protect the rights of sexual minorities, appoint an adviser to Kishida who understands and advocates for sexual minorities' rights, and include statistics of same-sex couples in the national census.

Japan’s stance on queer rights, sexual minorities and same-sex marriage has rather been unstable. However, there  is no doubt that Japan is legally obliged to not discriminate against these groups and equally protect them as others. Article 2 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), a covenant which Japan ratified in 1979, guarantees non-discrimination and Article 26 of the ICCPR guarantees equality before the law. It can be seen that through the aforementioned actions of the officials of the government, queer persons are discriminated against and not treated as equals to others. Japan must immediately cease all activities that are discriminating against queer persons and implement the recommendations given by the activists. 

Sources and further reading:

‘Kishida sacks close aide Arai for anti-LGBT comments.’ (2023, February 4) Asahi Shimbun. https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14831805

‘LGBTQ groups demand Japan adopt equal rights law by G7.’ (2023, February 8). Mainichi Shimbun. https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20230208/p2g/00m/0na/002000c

Human Rights Bodies. Ratification Status for Japan. United Nations Human Rights Treaty Bodies Database. https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?CountryID=87&Lang=EN