ACCJ Support for Marriage Equality and LGBTQ+ Rights in Japan
Photo Credit: The Huffington Post
On May 17, ACCJ Executive Director Laura Younger joined leaders in a meeting with Masako Mori, special adviser to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, to present the petition requesting to include LGBTQ initiatives on the agenda of the G7 Hiroshima Summit. Also participating were leaders from EY Japan, Coca-Cola, and Panasonic, as well as the organizing groups Work with Pride, Marriage for All, and the Japan Alliance for LGBT Legislation. Younger shared the ACCJ’s position on the importance of legalizing marriage equality and protecting LGBTQ+ rights.
The ACCJ endorsed the Request for the G7 Hiroshima Summit to Include LGBTQ Initiatives on the Agenda (English | Japanese) submitted to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Minister of State for Gender Equality Masanobu Ogura by 72 companies and 4 organizations.
This petition was submitted ahead of the G7 Summit that took place on May 19-21 in Hiroshima. Japan is the only G7 nation that does not recognize same-sex marriage.
The ACCJ is a longtime advocate for workplace reforms and promoting diverse and equitable hiring practices in Japan. The ACCJ most recently issued an open letter on April 21 calling on the Government of Japan (GOJ) to legalize same-sex marriage and to protect those who identify as LGBTQ+ from discrimination.
The ACCJ also issued the landmark Viewpoint to Support the Recruitment and Retention of Talent by Instituting Marriage Equality in Japan, which has been updated every year since it was first adopted in 2018. The Viewpoint has already made an important impact in the marriage movement in Japan, having been specifically referenced by a Sapporo judge who found that the denial of marriage equality in Japan violates the equality requirements of the Japanese Constitution.
The ACCJ continues to advocate for the Government of Japan to extend the right to marry to LGBTQ+ couples, which would help to level the international playing field for companies in Japan by creating a more inclusive living and working environment with greater rights and protections for LGBT couples. Doing so would also remove limitations facing companies doing business in Japan in recruiting and retaining talent, and in treating the full diversity of their workforce equitably.
ACCJ Executive Director Laura Younger (fourth from left) with business leaders and members from Work with Pride on May 17, 2023.
Photo Credit: NHK