A senior executive in Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Toshiaki Endo, announced plans to push for the passage of a law promoting LGBTQ+ rights before the nation hosts the G7 summit in less than a month.
Endo, the head of the LDP’s general affairs council, has expressed his plans to have the ruling coalition submit a bill to grant recognition to same-sex unions with or without the support of the opposition.
Japan – the only nation among the G7 that lacks laws banning discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals or granting legal recognition to same-sex unions, could soon see progress in less than a month following Edo’s announcement.
Endo’s plan to speed up LGBTQ+ legislation also follows Prime Minister Fumio Kishida signing a G7 communique last year, which outlined a commitment to protect the LGBTQ+ community from discrimination.
Endo emphasised the importance of the ruling party taking responsibility for submitting the bill and asserted that the LDP and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, would move forward with it even if the opposition resists. This stance signals a possible shift within the conservative LDP, which has faced criticism from a prominent member for stalling progress on the bill.
Other G7 members have also urged Kishida’s government to protect sexual minorities before the summit in a show of solidarity with other democracies. However, some conservative factions have resisted the opposition’s proposed inclusion of a clause stating that “discrimination will not be tolerated.”
Endo now plans to seek a consensus by using terms such as “unfair discrimination will not be tolerated.”
Despite the issue remaining controversial within the LDP, public opinion polls reveal that a majority of Japanese citizens support the law and the legalisation of same-sex marriage, with business advocates also arguing that the lack of legal rights for sexual minorities obstructs efforts to attract international talent.
