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| People march in Tokyo's Shibuya district during the Tokyo Rainbow Pride 2019 parade in April 2019. (Photo by: Kyodo) |
[Asia News Communication = Reporter Reakkana] Advocates are calling for Japan to create national legislation to protect LGBT people from being outed, as the approach is failing to tackle the damaging form of discrimination and putting lives at risk, they say.
Central and local government efforts to prevent disclosure of a person's sexual orientation or gender identity against their will are insufficient, experts say, and measures that exist can only be applied in a limited scope. Few cities and ward authorities in Japan have ordinances that specifically ban the outing of LGBT people but only one out of 47 prefectures, Mie in central Japan is working to make something similar, according to a July Kyodo News survey.
The central government's response also seems lacking. One out of 11 people in Japan say that they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or "other," according to a 2018 survey by advertising giant Dentsu Inc., and discussion around LGBT issues is becoming more common. There is still the need for a wider understanding within the community, tragically exemplified by the way LGBT people's lives are turned upside down when they are outed, leading to mental health issues and suicides. Twenty-nine prefectures including Kyoto, Osaka, Miyagi and Gifu said they are focused on raising awareness through promotional materials and community study sessions.
