More in Japan identify as LGBT as social awareness grows, study finds

At least 1 in 11 people in Japan identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, according to a survey conducted by advertising giant Dentsu Inc., while more than two-thirds of respondents were familiar with the acronym LGBT.

Of the 60,000 people aged between 20 and 59 who responded online in October, 8.9 percent self-identified as LGBT, a rise of 1.3 percentage points from the previous survey conducted in 2015, the company said.

The survey also found that 68.5 percent either knew that LGBT was an acronym for sexual minorities or had heard of the term. In 2015, 37.6 percent of respondents answered similarly.

“More people may have started to think about their sexuality as information about LGBT people has increased in the last few years,” a Dentsu official in charge of the survey said.

Almost 80 percent of respondents said that, instead of simply knowing the acronym, they wanted to gain a deeper understanding of the LGBT community to ensure that they would not make such individuals feel uncomfortable.

Of the LGBT respondents, 65.1 percent said they had not told anyone about their sexuality, pointing to the difficulty of coming out in Japan.

Regarding same-sex marriage, legal in some Western countries, 78.4 percent responded that they approved or were likely to approve.

A growing number of municipal governments are issuing marriage certificates to LGBT couples in Japan, but legal marriage remains limited to heterosexual couples.

In the survey, 72.1 percent said they wanted to see stronger legal protections put in place for the LGBT community.

Discriminatory comments are still being made against the LGBT community, most recently this month by politician Katsuei Hirasawa, who said “a country would collapse” if everyone became LGBT. After a fierce backlash, he said that LGBT rights should be protected.