TOKYO Kyodo secretary to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Masayoshi Arai, said Friday night he does not want to live next door to an LGBT couple, but he quickly retracted the discriminatory remarks after they were reported by the media.
Arai apologizes for having used expressions that may cause misunderstanding in withdrawing the remarks. The secretary said that I feel sorry for causing any issues for the prime minister, as he does not think like that.
I caused trouble for the prime minister due to my own opinions, he said.
Before the withdrawal, Arai said there were quite a few people who said they would abandon this country if same-sex marriage was introduced in Japan, a step that would change the way society is. The prime minister said at a parliamentary session in late January that we need to be very careful in considering the matter, as it could affect the structure of family life in Japan. There have been several lawsuits filed across the nation by same-sex couples.
As many members of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party, led by Kishida, oppose the concept, Japan remains the only Group of Seven country that does not recognize same-sex marriage or civil unions.
The Sapporo District Court ruled in March 2021 that the ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, but the Osaka District Court ruled it constitutional in June 2022.