Attention all those who love sushi and men in speedos…
The city of Tokyo, Japan has announced passage of a bill aimed at protecting the rights of LGBTQ people within the city. The reason: the 2020 Olympic games will take place in the historic city, and the Metropolitan Government wanted to assure the world that all athletes will be treated with proper respect. Russia, take note.
The new bill prescribes protections for people on the basis of sexuality or gender identity, and goes a step further by establishing new LGBTQ rights education programs for city officials.
Related: Did Japan’s First Lady pretend she doesn’t speak English to avoid talking to Trump?
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The Human Rights Watch, an international organization focused on establishing and promoting human rights on a global scale, commended the move. However, Japan spokesperson Kanae Doi also hinted the new policy doesn’t go far enough.
“Japan is proud to host a human rights-friendly Olympics in 2020, and the government should use the next two years to pass laws and carry out policies that comprehensively protect everyone,” Doi said. Doi hopes that the larger government of the nation will also institute more LGBTQ protections. At present, federal law does not protect against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, and the country has yet to legalize marriage equality.
Still, the city policy marks the latest in a trend of protections for queer people in Tokyo. Earlier this year, the city began work on a homeless shelter for LGBTQ people, as well as a Pride House to host gay athletes during the Olympics.
GayEGO
Good news!
Kangol
Good news but come on, Japan, nationalize it so that it covers the entire country.
Creamsicle
That’s going to take some time. Japan is still an extremely conservative country. For example, Japanese women who are unmarried by 30 are considered failures, regardless of their achievements. The demographics also don’t favor progressive policy gaining ground as young people age into majority, since Japan’s demographics skew older.
It’s actually a huge concern, and a big part of why Japan doesn’t demonize automation and robotics the way that most of the western world does. Japan will need more automation and robotics just to maintain their standard of living, whereas the rest of the world is fretting over what to do with a potential permanent increase in unemployment and underemployment due to the rise of automated work.
Robothedestroyer
Baby steps, but good for you Japan.
Birdbrain1963
Japan has been working towards this for awhile. With that said, This is also the actions taken at every nation that has hosted the Olympics in the last 30 years. Not really a good thing yet….
Bob LaBlah
As ol’ Confucius said “a man with a thousand mile journey begins it with a single step” I guess Japan, an island that is 145,00 sq miles area wise, decided Tokyo would be the starting point.