"I would like to come out to others about my sexuality, but because of the lack of understanding in this society, it's easier to just stay in the closet."
"I wrote 'wife and wife' on the marital status section of the last national census form, but when I made a follow-up inquiry, I was told that this was an invalid entry, and so it had likely been thrown out. I want the Japanese government to start recognizing our existence."
The above comments were made during a workshop on LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) rights held on Nov. 10 at Gossip, a cafe in Tokyo's Omotesando district that also serves as an event space and resource clearinghouse for members of the LGBT community. Organized by a network known as Rainbow de Equal, the event was the second in a two-part series regarding the issue of obtaining legal recognition in Japan for marriage between same-sex partners.
The event's featured speaker was Aya Kamikawa, 45, an assembly member in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward, who is Japan's first openly transgender politician. Shortly after taking office in 2003, she was instrumental in helping to pass Japan's law permitting transgender individuals -- who are commonly referred to in Japan as having gender identity disorder, or GID -- to officially change their sex in their family registry. Kamikawa, who was born male, understands the challenges inherent in passing legislation on an unfamiliar and controversial social issue -- and was more than willing to share her experience and insights with event attendees advocating same-sex marriage.
Kamikawa told participants that when addressing the National Diet prior to the law's passage, legislators were completely unfamiliar with the issues facing transgender people, who do not identify with the physical sex that they were born with. Consequently, she first had to dispel a common misperception by explaining that the issue of gender identity is not the same thing as sexual orientation, or who a person becomes attracted to.
In other words, transgender individuals such as Kamikawa are in the "T" category of LGBT, while most of the participants at the Gossip event -- as well as the majority of Japan's sexual minorities -- make up the "LGB" part, which refers to sexual orientation. Their experiences are vastly different, therefore, making the term "LGBT community" somewhat of a misnomer.
Although LGB people can easily keep their sexual orientation hidden, for example, Kamikawa explained that the incompatibility experienced by transgender individuals with respect to their legal gender status and their outward physical appearance can result in their becoming cut off from routes to obtain housing, employment, or anything else requiring official documentation. This was Kamikawa's own experience, and she said that this became her eventual motivation to run for legal office -- fighting along the way to be recognized as a female candidate -- in order to improve life for other transgender individuals.
"There came a point when I could no longer just stay home and silently endure the pain," she said.
Despite the fundamental differences in their life experiences, however, LGBT individuals do share commonalities in terms of a lack of legal rights, which -- depending upon the individual -- can mean everything from workplace protection to marriage to raising families. Hearing about Kamikawa's successful experience battling the legal system offered event attendees hope that eventually, similar gains could also be made by other sexual minorities in Japan.
Among the event participants were Koyuki Higashi, 28, and Hiroko Masuhara, 35, who made headlines earlier this year when they became the first same-sex couple to hold a wedding at Tokyo Disneyland. While the wedding was strictly symbolic due to Japan's lack of legal recognition for same-sex couples, many LGBT community members say the fact that both appeared wearing wedding dresses in front of visitors to the family-friendly theme park represents a giant step forward in terms of gaining social recognition.
Event attendee Eriko, 24, who asked that her last name not be used, said that she has a girlfriend, but that she previously thought it would be impossible to ever get married to a woman. "I was greatly inspired by Koyuki and Hiroko's marriage, as well as by Aya Kamikawa's lecture, which helped me realize that I have the same right to happiness as anyone else," she said. "This event also motivated me to become more involved in helping to work for LGBT rights."
Workshop attendee Hidetoshi Mochizuki, 35, a gay man who works in the mainstream heterosexual wedding industry, agrees that marriage can be an effective angle from which to help bring about social understanding in Japan with respect to LGBT rights. "I came out about my sexuality at work, and my company is now planning to work with same-sex weddings," he said."As more and more people become aware of our existence as sexual minorities, social perceptions will change -- and this in turn will help make it easier to achieve legal rights."
One action that the Rainbow de Equal organizers are considering spearheading is rallying around an official court case challenging the government to legally recognize Higashi and Masuhara's marriage -- something that the couple says that they may be willing to consider at some point in the future.
"We saw how the famous court case that Edie Windsor brought against the U.S. national government helped to open the door to increased rights for same sex couples in the United States," commented attendee (and event co-organizer) Asami Nishikawa, 40, referring to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) -- which defined marriage as being only between a man and a woman -- was unconstitutional.
"After President Obama began taking LGBT issues seriously, there was a palpable shift in Japan as well," Nishikawa explained. "Until then, such topics were only discussed in raunchy, sex-related terms, and maybe once in a while with regard to music or culture -- never politics. But now, we see a real hope in Japan that legal gains are possible."
Nishikawa and her female partner Haru Ono, 42, decided three years ago to hold a marriage ceremony in order to solidify their commitment to one another in front of friends and family. "With no outward recognition of your relationship, it becomes that much easier to break up when the going gets tough," Nishikawa commented, explaining one of their motivations to marry. "Even though there is not yet any legal recognition for same-sex marriage in this country, holding a wedding ceremony means that you inevitably must come out to at least some of the people in your life -- even if you're not able to do so to everyone. We found this to be a really positive experience."
The couple has three children between them from their previous marriages to men, and they recently began an organization called Nijiiro Kazoku, or "Rainbow Families," to create community and share information among LGBT individuals who are raising kids, or who plan to do so in the future -- including Higashi and Masuhara, who plan to have children of their own using sperm donation.
"It is very difficult to be in a situation where you are raising children and do not have legal rights for your family," Ono said.
Rainbow Families was one of the participating organizations in an event held last spring known as Tokyo Rainbow Week, which featured discussions, film screenings, picnics, and other events sponsored by numerous grassroots organizations working for various LGBT issues, including workplace protections, youth suicide prevention, HIV awareness and group support at universities -- as well as backing from LGBT organizations based in other Japanese cities.
"These connections between different groups is a pretty new phenomenon in Japan," explained Nishikawa, adding that Rainbow de Equal plans to continue cultivating connections with other networks, and that future actions may also include encouraging same-sex families to be recognized by national census-takers.
Kamikawa strongly encouraged event attendees to continue their advocacy for LGBT rights and recognition, adding that peoples' fears about being overlooked by bureaucratic and legal systems are often unfounded.
"Free advice is available from the Japan Legal Support Center, for example, and if you send in a letter to your local government office, the officials have the duty to respond to it," she said.
"Our voices are usually more powerful than we think."
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