Tokyo Rainbow Pride returns in style as LGBTQ+ community vows to ‘fight’ for same-sex marriage: ‘Japan is really far behind’
LGBTQ+ folks and allies joined the Tokyo Rainbow Pride 2023. Twitter/@myhlee)
The first Tokyo Rainbow Pride parade in four years has taken place in Japan – the only country in the Group of Seven (G7) that still doesn’t recognise same-sex marriage.
The G7 is an organisation of the world’s seven largest “advanced” economies – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the United States.
In May 2023, the group’s annual summit will take place in Japan, where the 2023 Tokyo Rainbow Pride parade calling for better LGBTQ+ rights was held on Sunday (23 April).
The downtown Shibuya district was a sea of rainbow flags after around 10,000 people gathered on the streets, calling for Japan to prioritise gay rights and same-sex marriage, waving rainbow flags and shouting “happy Pride”.
A protestor who referred to themselves as Himama told Japan Today: “Japan is really far behind … We will fight until the entire country has same-sex marriage.
“I think the government is both pretending to see us and pretending not to, but that change will really start happening from here on in.”
According to Japan Today, Masako Mori, a special advisor to Japan’s prime minister Fumio Kishida on LGBTQ affairs, attended the parade but didn’t remark on same-sex marriage, instead urging for “greater understanding of LGBTQ”.
Marchers included a group from Taiwan – the first southeast Asian country to legalise same-sex marriage in 2019. Despite this huge milestone in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights, in 2022, couples protested for true marriage equality in the country.
LGBTQ+ folks and allies from across the world attended the parade and shared their Pride participation on Twitter.
One user from Ireland tweeted a number of colourful photos with the caption: “Great to be at Tokyo Rainbow Pride today to show Ireland’s support for #equalrights for all.”
Another commenter remarked on what a “nice and peaceful festival” the parade was.
“Tokyo Rainbow Pride festival today and tomorrow in Tokyo, next to Yoyogi Park (parade tomorrow/Sunday). Great fun, lots of giveaways, all sorts of people, food and music,” an attendee from Germany posted.
The parade took place over Saturday and Sunday (22-23 April) but events celebrating the LGBTQ+ community will continue around Tokyo until 7 May.
The last Pride parade in Japan was held in 2019 and since then, the number of Japanese cities and towns allowing some form of same-sex partnership has risen from 26 to around 300, covering some 65 per cent of the population.
Despite Japanese same-sex couples being permitted to engage in civil unions, marriage remains, at a constitutional level, between a man and a woman.
This means that, while a union can be recognised, same-sex couples cannot inherit each other’s assets or adopt.
Furthermore, hospital visits in the case where one half of the couple is either dying or in a critical condition are usually not permitted as the couple are not legally recognised as family members.
In December 2022, a Tokyo court ruled to uphold a ban on same-sex marriage, but noted that the absence of a legal system to protect same-sex couples is an infringement of their human rights.
In February, Japan’s prime minister, Fumino Kishida, fired an economy and trade official who made hateful comments about LGBTQ+ people, saying he didn’t even “want to look at” LGBTQ+ couples.
Masayoshi Ara also claimed that people would flee the country if same-sex marriage was permitted and remarked that he wouldn’t want to live next to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender couples.
According to a recent poll, around 64 per cent of Japanese people would welcome same-sex unions.
