Known as having some of the most conservative and homogeneous societies in the world, it would be easy to assume that Asia’s LGBTQ+ rights are not quite where they should be.
Some would place Japan in this basket.
While for some time Japan was regarded as less socially-advanced compared to Western cultures, today that is becoming far less of a truth thanks to decades of dedicated activism.
Japan’s LGBTQ+ History
Originally feudal Japan was regarded as not only tolerant, but celebratory of homosexuality and bisexuality. A large proportion of the country’s Samurai were homosexual, and this trickled into common society too.
It was only after the Meiji Restoration and Japan’s effort at modernisation (how ironic) when this tolerance declined drastically. This was further propelled in post WWII Japan, when Christianity pushed for an outward conservative society.
The Return to a Modern Society
Today strong efforts are being made to increase tolerance of LGBTQ+ within Japan. They have been largely successful!
The process has been an incremental one. Instead of taking the approach of changing the ideology of Japan on a national scale, activists have worked their way around individual prefectures and municipalities. This in many ways has inspired a snowball effect, and has been pivotal in inspiring change.
This has brought about many milestones for the LGBTQ+ community. For example, in 2015 the Tokyo Shibuya district was the first in Japan to allow same-sex couples to apply for proof-of-partnership documents. This inspired many other major cities such as Osaka, Sapporo, and Fukuoka to follow suit. As of January 2022, 147 municipalities have introduced similar measures.
Much of this has also stemmed from the government’s desire to adopt a more modern image in Japan, a particular example of this would be during the run-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Government officials grew concerned with how much Japan was lagging behind with regards to social-issues, compared to the rest of the world.
As a result, LGBTQ+ visibility was forcibly increased and prominent social issues were addressed on a national level. Their efforts were acknowledged worldwide, and led to many labelling the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as the ‘Rainbow Olympics’.
Since then the country has seen LGBTQ+ rights soar. To illustrate, we can look to rights within education and employability. Across the country we’ve seen the introduction of a ‘zero-tolerance’ policy on bullying and harassment of students and employees on the basis of their sexuality.
Japan’s LGBTQ+ Future
While it would be wrong to say there isn’t room for improvement, Japan has taken some giant leaps with LGBTQ+ rights. It has quickly become a place where the LGBTQ+ community can flourish.
Activism is widespread on both an individual and institutional level and the movement is rapidly growing. Japan is absolutely setting an example for all the other countries who are partaking in Asia’s LGBTQ+ movement.
It is truly an exciting time to be in Japan, as we gradually see the grip of social constraints loosen and a modern inclusive society begins to bloom.
