Japan’s parliament on Tuesday approved a new law to “promote understanding” of LGBT+ people, soon criticized as falling short of expectations, with Japan remaining the only G7 country not to recognize same-sex unions.
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This text was debated for months in the lower house of Parliament. And the most conservative elected officials were reluctant to introduce an anti-discrimination clause, arguing that it would aggravate divisions within society or generate abusive legal proceedings.
A compromise was finally found with a clause prohibiting any “unfair discrimination” against sexual minorities.
But the addition of this word “unfair” weakens the scope of this clause by meaning that certain discriminations would be just, regretted LGBT + activists.
“We strongly condemn” this law “whose content is the opposite of what we had demanded”, criticized the Japanese pro-LGBT+ organization J-ALL in a statement on Tuesday.
The content of this law “betrays” the persons concerned by showing “consideration” towards the perpetrators of discrimination, added J-ALL.
The law still needs to be passed by the Senate to come into force. This should only be a formality because the ruling coalition also holds a very large majority in the Upper House of Parliament.
Japan is the only member of the G7 not to recognize same-sex unions, but as the Japanese archipelago holds the rotating presidency of this group of major industrialized countries this year, pressure on the Liberal Democratic Party (PLD) of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had intensified to adopt a text further protecting LGBT + people against discrimination.
Unlike the government and most Japanese parliamentarians, the Japanese population is overwhelmingly in favor of legalizing gay marriage, according to polls.
A growing number of businesses across the country are also offering same-sex couples benefits similar to those for married people. And municipalities in the country issue certificates on request to simplify certain administrative procedures.