The Liberal Democratic Party will prepare to submit a bill encouraging understanding of issues concerning the LGBTQ community, seeking to repair the damage from discriminatory comments made by a former aide to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
"The Liberal Democratic Party wants to work to create an inclusive society that respects diversity,” party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters Monday. "We want to encourage understanding of sexual orientation and gender identity.”
Masayoshi Arai, a secretary to the prime minister, was dismissed from his post over the weekend for telling reporters in an off-the-record briefing that he didn’t want to look at same-sex couples or have them live next door to him. He added that some people would abandon the country if same-sex marriage were to be introduced.