First Year of LGBT Law

One year has passed since the Diet passed LGBT Understanding Promotion Law in 2023. Although the law aims at achieving a society which is generous with gender identity, the government of Japan has made a little progress. In the background, there is a political consideration of the policy makers who have been afraid of consistent protest by the conservative groups in the Liberal Democratic Party.

The law was enacted in June 2023. “Concerning current situation in which understanding of the people for sexual orientation and gender identity is fallen short of, the law generate spirit to embrace diversity by establishing a basic plan and making role of national and local governments clear,” says Article 1 of the law. The law describes the basic concept that every person is respected as an individual, regardless sexual orientation and gender identity.

 

However, the government of Japan has not made the basic plan for promoting people’s understanding on LGBT. While the government is still collecting knowledge on LGBT issue, it has not held a hearing from the related people. As the result, the provision of the law that requires the basic plan has not implemented, showing no guidance for the governments and the people what to do.

 

There is an argument that the government has been inactive for a year. The Cabinet Office has made only limited efforts such as coordinating inter-ministry meeting, publishing reports of surveys and distributing flyers explaining about the issue. Those activities did not necessarily lead to building up a basic plan.

 

The conservative groups in LDP have been reluctant to guaranteeing human rights of LGBT people, arguing that the law may bring confusion in the society when LGBT people use public bath or bathroom. With vulnerable political basis, Kishida has been performing to be paying respect to the conservative values, as well as constitutional amendment. The governmental staffs have been following Kishida’s inactiveness.

 

In the process of discussing the LGBT bill last year, the conservative groups demanded changing provisions of the bill. The expression that “discrimination cannot be allowed” became “unjust discrimination cannot be made.” “Is there such a thing as just discrimination?” That was an argument raised last year. The law is saying as if “just discrimination” can be tolerated. The law was regarded as watered down.

 

Japan Alliance for Legislation for LGBT Legislation (J-ALL) requests a law for prohibiting discrimination on LGBT. J-ALL supposes that the law will prevent bullying in schools, disadvantage in employment caused by gender identity and suicide in isolation from families and friends. J-ALL argues that all the country in European Union, Australia and the United States have such a law.

 

Close communication between national government and local governments is highly important. It is local governments that deal with actual cases of discrimination or have consultation with the people suffering from discrimination. To make roles of the national and local governments clear, the government of Japan has to accelerate its effort to establish the basic plan for eliminating uneasiness of LGBT people.