Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks with Masayoshi Arai, right, who served as his key aide until he was fired on February 4. Asahi Shimbun file photo Opposition parties seized on discriminatory comments that resulted in the sacking of a key aide to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and caused anger in the LGBT community to attack the administration over its commitment to inclusiveness and diversity.
The furor erupted Feb. 4 after it emerged that Masayoshi Arai, who served as the executive secretary for media relations for Kishida, said he would not want to live next to gays and other sexual minorities.
The remarks were exclusivist and terrifying and have the potential to divide society, according to Kenta Izumi, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, when he met with reporters in Tokushima.
Arai served as Kishida's speech writer, Izumi said that the atmosphere in the prime minister's office has become a far cry from the government's slogan of inclusiveness and diversity. Akira Koike, who heads the secretariat of the Japanese Communist Party, denounced Arai's comments as insults that he showed a sense of discrimination against sexual minorities. The opposition parties are going to pepper Kishida with questions about his stance on sexual minorities at the Lower House Budget Committee. He is scheduled to attend an intensive deliberation committee session on February 8.
Even the legislators with Kishida's Liberal Democratic Party expressed deep concern about the fallout from Arai's remarks, considering that unified local elections will be held in April.
A former Cabinet member of the LDP said that we have to do something to distance the LDP from Arai's comments to ensure that the public does not equate them with the party's position.
Arai went on to tell reporters on Feb. 3 in off-the- record remarks that he loathed even looking at sexual minorities, and that all executive secretaries under Kishida were opposed to same-sex marriage, an issue that puts the prime minister in a bind, because he believes that partnerships could fundamentally change society. Gay people were equally aghast that a high-ranking government official would express contempt for sexual minorities.
Soshi Matsuoka, a 28 year-old man who proudly identifies as gay and represents Fair, an organization that disseminates information about sexual minorities, said he was shocked by the indefensible comments coming from the administration's inner circle.
Matsuoka said the Kishida administration would not be able to draw the curtain on the issue because of Arai's dismissal.
Japan is far from being qualified to host the Group of Seven summit in May, because a top government official lacks respect for human rights, he said. The government should send a message condemning discrimination against sexual minorities to the public and enact legislation that protects their rights. Japan is the only G-7 member that has yet to legalize same-sex marriage.
A 40-year-old company employee in Kumamoto who is waging a court battle over same-sex marriage said he broke down in tears when he heard about Arai's comments.
The man, who calls himself Kozo, said they were nothing less than undisguised hostility toward us. They directed at me, my partner and my relatives who are supportive of our struggle to gain legal status as a family. He said that we are not clamoring for special rights, just the right to an ordinary, peaceful life.