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It’s been a rough week for marriage equality in Japan. And Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio’s secretary made it even rougher with blatantly discriminatory remarks. The secretary retracted them – but, in the end, that didn’t save his job.
Kishida: An “unfortunate” change
During plenary sessions of the Diet, Kishida threw cold water on two ideas that are popular with the Japanese public: same-sex marriage and separate spousal surnames.
While “partnership systems” cover half of Japan’s population and confer some marriage-like rights on participants, there is no national right to wed for same-sex couples. And all couples in Japan of Japanese nationality must choose a single surname – a practice based in a Meiji-era law that disproportionately impacts women.
After saying Japan should move “carefully” on such issues because they “impact the family”, PM Kishida doubled-down in subsequent comments. With regards to same-sex marriage, he said, “Making this change is something that will unfortunately change our views on the families, our values, and society” (制度を改正すると、家族観や価値観、社会が変わってしまう課題だ).
The remarks were significant in that Kishida specifically used the Japanese phrase 変わってしまう, a grammatical construction (-てしまう) that implies an action is regrettable or unfortunate. It was a clear signal that his government has no plans to enact change anytime soon.
Depending on the poll, anywhere from 57% to 65% of the Japanese public supports same-sex marriage rights. Similarly, between 60% and 80% support striking down the law on separate spousal surnames.
Activists lambasted Kishida’s comments as out of date. On Twitter, Matsuoka Soshi remarked: “Society’s already changed towards honoring diverse families. The only thing that never changes is politicians.”
The comments and the retraction
To add insult to injury, Kishida’s secretary, Arai Masayoshi, took his boss’ remarks from dissension to outright discrimination.
“There are lots of people put off by same-sex marriage,” he told reporters. “I don’t want them living next to me either. Ask other [ministerial] secretaries and they’ll all agree.”
Arai’s remarks were so fiercely opposed by Japan’s political opposition that it threatened to bring Japan’s Diet to a standstill. As a result, Arai soon retracted them, saying he didn’t mean “anything discriminatory”. He also emphasized that they didn’t reflect PM Kishida’s thinking.
However, it seems the heat was too much for Japan’s PM to stand. Beset in recent months by a string of high-profile resignations and firings, as well as a plummeting approval rating, the beleaguered PM can hardly afford more controversy. He announced today that he’d be letting Arai go.
“It was unforgiveable,” Kishida told reporters. “It’s the kind of statement that forces me to take harsh action.”
A history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination
Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has a long history of endorsing LGBTQ+ bigotry. Last year, activists spoke out when a professor of religion at Hirosaki Gakuin University freely distributed a rabidly anti-LGBTQ+ pamphlet at an official LDP conference.
Kishida had also appointed LDP member Sugita Mio, who had infamously called LGBTQ+ people “unproductive” members of society, to a cabinet-level position. The opposition ultimately forced Sugita to retract her comments and resign.
What to read next
Japanese Law Made Me Change My Name Three Times
Sources
同性婚、法律で「認めるべき」65% 朝日新聞世論調査. Asahi Shimbun
岸田首相、同性婚は「社会が変わってしまう」発言に「日本社会を30年逆行させる」識者が一刀両断. Yahoo! News
首相秘書官が同性婚巡り「嫌と思う人いる」 発言は撤回. Sankei Shimbun
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