Japan Elects First Openly Gay Male Lawmaker

Japan elected their very first openly gay male lawmaker this week, and it might be a game changer for finally legalizing same-sex marriage in the country.

Taiga Ishikawa, a member of the non-ruling Constitutional Democratic Party, was elected to the House of Councillors on Sunday. During his campaign, he vowed to push for marriage equality, and has already displayed confidence that Japan is moving in that direction.

“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.”

Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, still opposes legalizing same-sex marriage, as does the majority of his party, the Liberal Democratic Party.

However, 78% of Japanese citizens between the age of 20 and 60 support a move towards equality, according to a recent poll taken by Japanese advertising company Dentsu.

“The findings show more people now have an understanding of LGBT individuals and that interest has been growing in the development of legislation for them as well as other steps to be taken next,” a spokesperson for the company said.

Currently, Taiwan is the only country in Asia where same-sex marriage is legal, but other countries around the world have been stepping up lately, including Northern Ireland and Austria.

“It has been incredibly empowering to the Japanese LGBT community to see the growing acceptance overseas of same-sex marriage,” Ishikawa said. “I think we’ve got a breakthrough now and I man to move the conversation forward.”