The ruling Liberal Democratic Party will accelerate discussion on a bill that would promote understanding of sexual minorities, a senior lawmaker said Sunday, amid growing criticism of the government's conventional stance on LGBTQ rights.
Koichi Hagiuda, the policy chief of the LDP, said in a TV program that he will make efforts to "forge a consensus" on the matter, without actually explaining what that would be, within the party around three months before Japan hosts the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima in May.
Japan remains the only Group of Seven country not to legally recognize same-sex marriage or civil unions, as many members of the conservative LDP, headed by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, have opposed the concept.