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Click to expand Image<\/p>\n

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga speaks at a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, May 7, 2021.
\n \u00a9 2021 AP Photo\/Hiro Komae<\/p>\n

Over the past six years, activists in Japan have pressed the Diet, the national parliament, to introduce a non-discrimination law that protects the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. Japan currently does not have any national legislation protecting LGBT people from discrimination, and a recent study puts Japan next to last in a ranking of laws on LGBT Inclusiveness for developed countries.<\/p>\n

One proposed law \u2013 the LGBT Equality Act \u2013 is currently under intense negotiation between Japan\u2019s ruling and opposition parties. In April, the conservative ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) announced it would pass an LGBT law during the current Diet session, set to end in June.<\/p>\n

But the ruling party bill, presented at the LDP\u2019s Special Mission Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, only requires the government to \u201cpromote understanding of LGBT people.\u201d It fails to mention non-discrimination protections and falls short of the government\u2019s international human rights obligations. Many Japanese LGBT rights groups oppose the draft bill, concerned that such weak language won\u2019t offer any real protections. Opposition parties are demanding a law that explicitly protects against discrimination.<\/p>\n

In January, 116 human rights and LGBT organizations sent a joint letter to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga supporting binding non-discrimination legislation. In March, the Japan Alliance for LGBT Legislation (J-ALL), an umbrella organization of 80 LGBT groups in Japan, submitted a petition containing over 100,000 signatures to the Diet, asking to introduce the LGBT Equality Act. That same month, a court in Sapporo called Japan\u2019s ban on same-sex marriage discriminatory and \u201cunconstitutional.\u201d<\/p>\n

In July, Tokyo is set to host the Olympics, whose charter forbids \u201cdiscrimination of any kind,\u201d including sexual orientation. There is little time left before the Diet session closes in mid-June. All political parties, including the LDP, should come together and enact a national anti-discrimination bill before the Summer Games begin.<\/p>\n

The LDP should revise the bill to include a clear clause in the main text of the law banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Japan needs to pass a national anti-discrimination law now.<\/p>\n

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Click to expand Image Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga speaks at a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, May 7, 2021. \u00a9 2021 AP Photo\/Hiro Komae Over the past six years, activists in Japan have pressed the Diet, the national parliament, to introduce a non-discrimination law that protects the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. Japan currently does not have any national legislation protecting LGBT people from discrimination, and a recent study puts Japan next to last in a ranking of laws on LGBT Inclusiveness for developed countries. One proposed law \u2013 the LGBT Equality Act \u2013 is…<\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"News<\/a>","author_info_v2":{"name":"Asaad Taha","url":"https:\/\/www.s4f.solutions\/author\/asaad-taha\/"},"comments_num_v2":"0 comments","yoast_head":"\n