June 23, 2007
Lesbian Politician to open Closet
for Japan's Homosexuals By Chie Matsumoto
Tokyo
Kanako Otsuji wants to open the closet for Japan's gay and lesbian
community in order to increase their visibility and help them gain
their basic rights as citizens.
The nation's first openly lesbian politician is running for a seat
in upper house parliamentary elections in July under the banner of
the major opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).
"I wanted to change Japan through politics, and to do that we
(homosexuals) have to become visible," Otsuji told DPA at her
campaign office in Tokyo's Shinjuku Nichome district, known as a hub
of the homosexual community.
Otsuji, then a member of the prefectural assembly in the western
Japanese province of Osaka, officially announced her sexual
orientation at a Tokyo gay pride parade in August 2005 and in a book
published on the same day.
Since Japan has no law banning discrimination against homosexuals,
many of them fear a backlash and do their best to hide under the
blanket of pseudonyms or anonymity.
Many Japanese homosexuals feel more comfortable coming out of the
closet with their close friends but resist revealing their sexual
orientation to their immediate families or to their professional
colleagues, Otsuji said.
After the 32-year-old politician announced her sexual orientation in
2005, her colleagues at the Osaka prefectural assembly began
avoiding her.
"They just didn't know how to react and they ignored me," Otsuji
said. "I have met many Japanese people who just regarded us as 'weirdos'."
In Japan, violent hate crimes mostly target gay men, Otsuji said, as
seen in a murder case about 10 years ago, when a Japanese gay man
was robbed and killed.
But lesbians, who tend to be more invisible in society, may just be
ignored or, at worst, receive prank calls.
Although Otsuji, a Taekwondo master, has not experienced any violent
harassment since she announced her candidacy, her campaign office
has dealt with protest calls from voters.
Otsuji thinks the prejudice against gays and lesbians in Japan lies
in how people perceive homosexuality only as "something to do with
what happens in bed," and not a lifestyle variation.
That generates the feeling of shame. When people criticize, they
express sympathy for the parents of homosexuals, who they think must
feel ashamed of their offspring.
Otsuji's mother received bouquets of flowers when her daughter won a
seat in the assembly, but no congratulatory messages reached her
when Otsuji married her partner.
Both women wore white wedding dresses and veils for the wedding
earlier this month. The couple received a telegram from DPJ leader
Ichiro Ozawa and blessings from their families and friends after
they exchanged vows and rings at the ceremony held at the Nagoya
Lesbian & Gay Revolution 2007 event in the central Japanese city of
Nagoya.
"Japan's discrimination against homosexuals is not based on religion
but morality," Otsuji said in an interview. "That's why I think the
nation can turn 180 degrees as soon as it learns to accept the
concept."
Boloji.com is owned and managed by Boloji Media Inc Privacy Policy |
Disclaimer
No part of this Internet site may
be reproduced without prior written permission of the copyright holder.
