A Japanese journalist is speaking out against U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel's push for pro-LGBTQ+ legislation in the country, warning it is "destroying" Japanese culture.
Emanuel, who was seen at Tokyo Rainbow Pride parade, has made it clear he is in favor of Japan enacting legislation that would ban discrimination against sexual minorities and legalize same-sex marriages.
But his push has been met with some backlash.
Masako Ganaha, a journalist from Okinawa, detailed how his "overt interference" in Japanese domestic affairs has impacted the nation's culture during "Fox & Friends First."
"Many Japanese people are so angry about this obvious overt interference in domestic affairs. And to begin with, I have to say that there are no discriminatory [policies] against LGBT[Q] people in Japan," Ganaha told Ashley Strohmier and Todd Piro Tuesday.
"What they are doing is to push LGBT[Q] ideology to us, and it's destroying our culture," she continued.
The push to legalize same-sex marriages and ban discrimination comes after an aide to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters he wouldn’t want to live next to LGBTQ people and that citizens would flee Japan if same-sex marriages were allowed. Kishida quikly fired the aide, Masayoshi Arai.
Now Japanese lawmakers are under mounting pressure from some to enact policies that protect sexual minorities under the law, before it hosts the annual G7 Summit later this month.
"The equality countdown begins now. As I said at Tokyo Rainbow Pride and will say again: no one should have patience when it comes to equal rights for all," Emanuel said in a tweet last week. "It's time for a new era where members of the LGBTQI+ community feel at home in Japan and the US."
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Kishida’s governing Liberal Democratic Party has begun preparing legislation that would promote awareness of LGBTQ rights but not mandate them. Some conservatives have shown resistance to the proposed bill and progress is uncertain.
Support for sexual diversity has grown slowly in Japan and legal protections are still lacking for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. They often face discrimination at school, work and at home, causing many to hide their sexual identities.
Campaigns for equal rights for sexual minorities have faced persistent and strong resistance from conservatives in Kishida’s governing Liberal Democratic Party.
An attempt to enact an equality awareness promotion law ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics was quashed by the party.
"Japan is now considering… passing the law, so-called anti-discrimination legislation, protecting LGBTQ rights, but it seems like it's coming from abroad," Ganaha said. "And those LGBTQ ideology is not targeting only Japan, but of course, your country and all of the countries in Europe, all over the world. So it's part of the destruction of our countries."
"Because we have this G7 in May… Japanese politicians are making [the] excuse we have to meet the international standards, but it's not the case." she continued. "What's actually happening is the destruction of our culture."
More than 200 local municipalities, including Tokyo, have introduced partnership certificates for same-sex couples allowing them to rent apartments and sign documents in medical emergencies, and for inheritance.
But the certificates are not legally binding and same-sex couples are often barred from visiting each other in the hospital and from accessing other services available to married couples.
Japan is the only nation out of all G7 countries that hasn't legalized same-sex marriage.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
