Regarding the story "Politician says being gay is 'personal taste' " in the Feb. 23 edition, being gay is based on "personal taste?" Yeah, and if you believe this nonsense, then you'd probably believe that having blue eyes is also based on personal taste.
Assemblywomean (no spelling error) Yumi Kobayashi is the product of an educational system that believes that "one size fits all," or at least it should. Perhaps in the Edo Period there was little if any discrimination against gay men and women, but in today's very conformist Japan, those Japanese who are somehow different from the ordinary or accepted "norm" often appear to pose a threat to the much loved homogeneity embraced by the greater society.
Many Japanese would like to believe that the celebration of "diversity" is one of those alien American traditions, one not very well received in Japan (or Nazi Germany). The idea that homosexuals find more acceptance or tolerance in Japan than in the West is a blatant lie. Homosexuals are marginalized and mocked in Japan.
Being a politician, Kobayashi must think that bashing gays and other minorities is just a good way to curry favor with the prejudicial mindset of many voters.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.