Japan Elects Its First Openly Gay Lawmaker
Taiga Ishikawa has become the first openly gay man elected to the National Diet in Japan – becoming the first gay lawmaker in the country.
The National Diet is Japan’s governing legislature and makes up the lower house, house of representatives, upper house, and house of councillors.
Upon being elected Ishikawa said he felt certain same-sex marriage would eventually be legalised in the country: “Since the early 2000s, the issue of same-sex marriage has progressed leaps and bounds,” he told Reuters.
“It will happen within the six years of my term, I am sure.
“It has been incredibly empowering to the Japanese LGBT community to see the growing acceptance overseas of same-sex marriage.
“I think we’ve got a breakthrough now and I plan to move the conversation [on same-sex marriage] forward.”
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