Japan’s ruling party to speed up debate on LGBT bill ahead of G-7 summit

The ruling LDP’s policy chief will try to ‘forge a consensus’ on the issue in the party, before Japan hosts the G-7 summit in May

Japan is the only G-7 country not to legally recognise same-sex marriage or civil unions, as many members of the conservative LDP have opposed it

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Participants march during the Tokyo Rainbow Pride parade celebrating the LGBT community in Tokyo’s Shibuya district on May 7, 2017. Photo: AP

Published: 5:58pm, 12 Feb 2023

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party will accelerate discussion on a bill that would promote understanding of sexual minorities, a senior lawmaker said on Sunday, amid growing criticism of the government’s conventional stance on LGBT people.

Koichi Hagiuda, the policy chief of the LDP, said in a TV programme that he will make efforts to “forge a consensus” on the matter within the party, around three months before Japan hosts the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Hiroshima in May.

Japan remains the only G-7 country not to legally recognise same-sex marriage or civil unions, as many members of the conservative LDP, headed by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, have opposed the concept, cherishing traditional family values.

Kishida, who has described himself as a dovish moderate, has also adopted a cautious attitude toward recognising same-sex marriage in Japan.

In the run-up of the summit, concerns are mounting among government officials that Japan will be lambasted by other G-7 nations for its lack of a legal framework to protect the human rights and dignity of LGBT people, sources close to Kishida said.

Japan remains the only member of G-7 to not legally recognise same-sex couples, even as many Japanese municipalities and prefectures provide same-sex partnership certificates. Photo: Getty Images

Issues surrounding sexual minorities in Japan have come under the spotlight after Kishida sacked Masayoshi Arai, one of his executive secretaries, earlier this month.