fountainhall
April 5th, 2015, 15:25
In a country which is often full of surprises, the conservatism inherent in Japanese society made it one of the most unlikely to publicly endorse same sex relationships. The annual Tokyo Gay Pride Parade is puny compared to Taipei's (less than a tenth of participants), for example, although the Prime Minister's wife did make an appearance last year - partly a result of her work in HIV prevention.
But earlier this week legislators in Tokyo's trendy Shibuya ward which is always packed with young people broke new ground. They become the first in Japan to vote to recognise same-sex partnerships as the тАЬequivalent of a marriage.тАЭ During the lobbying process the Asahi Shimbun, one of the country's major newspapers, polled readers. 52% said they supported the bill whereas just 27% disapproved. A slight majority (41% for/37% against) favoured a change in the country's constitution to allow for marriage between same sex couples. As the newspaper reported, the majority of those in the "against"camp were in their 70s or older.
http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2015 ... rtificate/ (http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2015/02/17/poll-shows-52-support-for-same-sex-partnership-certificate/)
Despite the vote, Shibuya is just one of 23 wards within the city and Tokyo is just one of 47 prefectures in the country. So there is a long way to go if the Shibuya decision is to be universally adopted.
In response to the vote, the right wing Prime Minster Shintaro Abe told parliament that changing the constitution to allow for gay marriage would require тАЬextremely cautious consideration,тАЭ The Japanese constitution тАЬdoes not envisage marriage between people of the same sex,тАЭ he said.
See a vdo here - http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/ ... ners-video (http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2015/mar/31/japan-same-sex-partnerships-campaigners-video)
But earlier this week legislators in Tokyo's trendy Shibuya ward which is always packed with young people broke new ground. They become the first in Japan to vote to recognise same-sex partnerships as the тАЬequivalent of a marriage.тАЭ During the lobbying process the Asahi Shimbun, one of the country's major newspapers, polled readers. 52% said they supported the bill whereas just 27% disapproved. A slight majority (41% for/37% against) favoured a change in the country's constitution to allow for marriage between same sex couples. As the newspaper reported, the majority of those in the "against"camp were in their 70s or older.
http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2015 ... rtificate/ (http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2015/02/17/poll-shows-52-support-for-same-sex-partnership-certificate/)
Despite the vote, Shibuya is just one of 23 wards within the city and Tokyo is just one of 47 prefectures in the country. So there is a long way to go if the Shibuya decision is to be universally adopted.
In response to the vote, the right wing Prime Minster Shintaro Abe told parliament that changing the constitution to allow for gay marriage would require тАЬextremely cautious consideration,тАЭ The Japanese constitution тАЬdoes not envisage marriage between people of the same sex,тАЭ he said.
See a vdo here - http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/ ... ners-video (http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2015/mar/31/japan-same-sex-partnerships-campaigners-video)