Japan’s first national LGBTQIA+ education plan is “inadequate” and could actually restrict information about sexually and gender diverse people being disseminated, experts and community members say.
The plan was released late last month after three years of political wrangling in the country where same-sex marriage has not been legalised.
Schools, universities, workplaces, public officials and law enforcement agencies are set to offer education about sexual orientation and gender diversity, but experts say the requirement is not legally binding.
The government will create education materials including videos and pamphlets for use in the institutions, but exact details about what will be included has not yet been made public.
Gay rights campaigner Matsuoka Soushi described the plan as “inadequate” given nearly 90 per cent of LGBTQIA+ students surveyed reported harassment in Japanese schools in the past year.
“The plan merely called for publicising pamphlets and training videos summarising considerations for younger people,” he said.
That plan suggested the government was reluctant to educate people about issues of sex and gender in schools, he added.
Training in schools and universities will focus on ensuring “attentive support to children and students” with people on prefectural boards of education, teachers, and social education staff all set to be included in the program.
School councillors and social workers will link up with existing support services under the plan.
Mr Soushi called for an anti-discrimination law to protect LGBTQIA+ people, adding that the plan did not protect them enough from hate speech.
Nodoka Yanagi (left) wants better protections for Japan’s LGBTQIA+ community. (Supplied)
Nodoka Yanagi identifies as a lesbian and lives in Tokyo and was frustrated that the plan was not followed by laws that offered more protections for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Her local government has registered her relationship but Ms Yanagi said the couple were still treated differently.
“I can’t help but think about the real-life disparities, such as not being able to claim tax relief for a partner because we can’t get married, which puts us at a disadvantage compared to ordinary married couples,” Ms Yanagi said.
“If the government truly wants to … show understanding toward those directly affected, nothing will change unless they start by properly rethinking the system from the ground up.”
Plan ‘non-binding’
Dr Hiroyuki Taniguchi, LGBTQIA+ law expert at Chuo University in Japan, said it was good the plan explicitly recognised that “living one’s life in accordance with one’s own sexual orientation and gender identity is a significant and compelling legal interest”.
“This has been positioned as lying at the core of the right to privacy and affirmed as central to the dignity of the individual,” he said.
However, he was concerned that there was nothing compelling organisations to educate people about sex or gender, or new ideas to help boost understanding.
“The underlying law … imposes only a non-binding, ‘best-efforts’ obligation … it remains unclear what would count as fulfilling that,” he said.
He said the lack of benchmarks for assessing the plan’s effectiveness was its “most serious weakness”, and that the plan’s vague language could be used to put a “brake” on efforts to improve gay rights in Japan.
“Because the plan sets no specific goals, benchmarks, or limits, it leaves considerable room for conservative or restrictive interpretations to take hold at the level of local governments and individual schools,”
he said.
The Act on the Promotion of Public Understanding of the Diversity of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, which passed in 2023, required the creation of the education plan.
Dr Taniguchi said the act contained a clause “calling for consideration so that all citizens, including the majority, can live with peace of mind”.
“Terms like ‘consideration,’ ‘peace of mind,’ and ‘respect for differing opinions’ are open-ended and highly interpretable. The ‘discomfort’ of the majority could be invoked as a reason to suppress LGBTQ-affirmative education or expression in schools and elsewhere.”
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said that the government would “appropriately promote necessary efforts while listening to various opinions and garnering broad public support” following the plan’s release.
The Japanese government was contacted for comment.
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi does not support same-sex marriage.
Experts have previously said the length of time taken to formulate the education plan was an indication of the power of conservative factions of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Japan’s Supreme Court is currently reviewing the legality of the country’s ban on same-sex marriage, following several lower court rulings which found it to be unconstitutional.
A decision on the matter is expected in early 2027.