Japan passes controversial LGBT law: 5 things to know – Nikkei Asia

3 comments

1. I can’t help but feel that “small victories” in other countries usually lead to landmark cases whereas “small victories” in Japan basically just serve to reinforce the status quo.

   In theory it seems like Japan is nearly there to legalizing gay marriage but the doomer in me can’t help but feel like it’ll be at least another 10 years.

2. Before people start with anti-Japanese sentiments again.

   Do you know what the original cause of these issues is?

   The West.

   When Japan was isolated, homosexuality was openly accepted, encouraged even.

   There’s even a [famous collection of stories](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Mirror_of_Male_Love) on the topic, from 1687, but homosexuality in Japan actually predates it by centuries.

   To make matters worse, it was primarily Americans that wrote Japan’s constitution following WWII, not Japanese lawmakers.

   It’s all well and good claiming that Japan is behind the West in terms of current legislation, but there was a time when the likes of Oscar Wilde probably would have relished living there compared to being put in a Victorian prison. Then again, Oscar Wilde was born around the time that sakoku ended, which is when the West started influencing Japan.

   Edit: You can read about the history [here](https://www.tofugu.com/japan/gay-samurai/).

3. It‘s the same bullshit law as the anti racial discrimination law a few years ago. Doesn‘t define what discrimination is and refuses to make discrimination actually illegal by setting penalties. The only reason those 2 laws exist is that the IOC and other international organizations pressured Japan to do something after its bid for the olympics. LDP doesn‘t give a flying fuck about protecting minorities.