Anti-LGBT Discrimination Would Be Discouraged by Legislation Tentatively OK’d by Japan’s Ruling Party

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:04 JST, May 13, 2023

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party held a meeting on legislation regarding sexual minorities Friday, giving tentative approval for a draft amendment to a bill on the matter.

The bill aims to promote understanding of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, while the amendment would discourage discrimination against them.

The LDP aims to submit the bill to the Diet by May 19, when the summit of the Group of Seven industrialized nations opens in Hiroshima.

The draft amendment is based on a document compiled in 2021 by a nonpartisan group of lawmakers. The amendment states as its basic principle that “there should be no unjust discrimination.”

The LDP meeting lasted more than two hours. Some members in attendance opposed the draft amendment, saying, “The meaning of ‘unjust discrimination’ should be clarified.” In the end, however, those attending left the final decision to senior members of the meeting.

The LDP plans to hold a Policy Research Council Board meeting and a General Council meeting to review the amended version of the bill on Tuesday. Then, the LDP hopes to obtain the approval of its ruling coalition partner Komeito, which has urged the passage of the bill by the time of the G7 summit. The LDP also seeks the support of opposition parties in submission of the bill.