April 27 was the inauguration of Tokyo Rainbow Week, a new event aimed at supporting sexual minorities. According to the website, the 10-day series of events seeks to promote a "friendly and accepting society where anybody can be themselves and lead a life of happiness and optimism."
Those goals are admirable ones that deserve the support of all people, regardless of their sexual orientation.
Even though Tokyo is the world's largest city, individuals with a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) identity have long been unrecognized at best and victimized by discrimination at worst. Current estimates of the size of the LGBT population in Japan are around 5 percent, about what it is in the United States and Europe. While the demographics can be hard to ascertain, the number of individuals forms a sizable minority.