Over 10,000 people gathered in Tokyo’s Shibuya district on Sunday for the city’s first full Pride parade in four years. The parade celebrated progress in LGBTQ rights, but participants called for Japan to follow other advanced nations and legally recognize same-sex marriage. Japan is the only member of the Group of Seven (G7) industrial powers that does not recognize same-sex marriage, and the country’s constitution currently defines marriage as being between “both sexes.”
While polls show that around 70% of the Japanese public is in favor of same-sex marriage, progress on this front has been slow. However, there has been a surge in the number of Japanese municipalities allowing same-sex couples to enter partnership agreements, with around 300 currently covering some 65% of the population. These agreements do not allow partners to inherit each other’s assets, nor do they grant them parental rights to each other’s children. Additionally, hospital visits are not guaranteed.
The parade was attended by Masako Mori, a special advisor to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on LGBTQ affairs, who urged “greater understanding of LGBTQ” in brief remarks before the parade began. Kishida, however, remains noncommittal about same-sex marriage, despite sacking an aide in February who sparked outrage by saying people would flee Japan if same-sex marriage was allowed.
While some lawmakers have vowed to pass a law promoting “understanding of LGBTQ” before the upcoming G7 summit, activists and business leaders say this is a good step but falls short. At last year’s G7 summit, Japan committed to ensuring equal rights and anti-discrimination measures for LGBTQ. The situation has long limited the talent pool for global firms, but even traditional Japanese companies now find their international competitiveness endangered without diversity, including LGBTQ rights.
Companies such as NEC have in recent years promoted diversity in-house and granted LGBTQ couples some of the same benefits as married couples. Some 100 NEC employees were scheduled to march in the parade, which was sponsored by a subsidiary of the company. Other Japanese firms, including Panasonic and Mitsubishi Materials, were also sponsors of the event.
Despite the slow progress in Japan, parade participants remained hopeful for change. “Japan is really far behind…We will fight until the entire country has same-sex marriage,” said one participant. As pressure from business leaders and activists continues to mount, many are hopeful that Japan will soon follow in the footsteps of other advanced nations and legally recognize same-sex marriage.