Private groups are calling on the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to add homosexuals to its list of people whose basic human rights need to be protected.
Earlier this month, 29 citizens' bodies, including nonprofit organizations, jointly submitted a petition to the metro government to include gay men and women on its list of groups that need protection.
Such groups are mentioned in a metropolitan guideline for promoting human rights. The list includes children, senior citizens, women, non-Japanese residents, the disabled, those with HIV and the homeless.