Japan PM apologizes to LGBTQ activists over ex-aide’s remark

Published February 17, 2023 2:51 AM

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has met with LGBTQ representatives and offered an apology over his former aide’s discriminatory remarks, which sparked nationwide outrage and calls for the government to ensure equal rights. Former Kishida aide Masayoshi Arai’s comments to reporters earlier this month that he wouldn’t want to live next to LGBTQ people and that citizens would flee Japan if same-sex marriages were allowed prompted renewed demands that the government adopt an anti-discrimination law. Also Friday, Kishida appointed former Justice Minister Masako Mori as special aide for promoting understanding for LGBTQ issues.

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