A tweet by Chinese Consul General in Osaka Xue Jian earlier this week in which he described transgender people as being "deformed" has stirred controversy, with commenters saying the post is discriminatory against sexual minorities.
Xue tweeted in Japanese on Wednesday, "I don't mean to discriminate against sexual minorities, but tampering with gender is a deformity, not the evolution of human civilization."
The consul general also said "the absolute minority is effectively forcing us — the absolute majority" and claimed it goes against the basics of majority-rules democracy that the West has long advocated.
China has cracked down on sexual minorities in recent years, viewing support for the LGBTQ community as part of Western values and apparently fearing that their movement could challenge Communist Party rule.
The Beijing LGBT Center, an advocacy group for sexual minorities, was shut down in May "due to uncontrollable pressure" amid stricter control by the government of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno declined Thursday to comment on Xue's tweet, but said the government will work toward realizing a society where diversity is respected and people value each other's human rights and dignity.