NEWSWORTHY
Japan's businesses should take lead on LGBT rights: U.N. official
A senior U.N. Human Rights official said the Japanese business sector should play a greater role in eliminating discrimination against sexual minorities. "I think there is less progress both in laws and in public attitudes in Japan than the other six countries of the G7," ...
Japan's social security net for transgender people improving but obstacles loom for seniors
People diagnosed with gender dysphoria in Japan are getting more support from social security, including the ability to have the names they usually go by printed on their health insurance cards and to get coverage for gender reassignment surgery under certain conditions. But even as ...
Japan's wedding ring jewelers look to become more LGBT-friendly
While same-sex marriage has not been legalized in Japan, some firms in the country's wedding jewelry industry have started taking steps to make their products and stores more LGBT-friendly. Primo Japan Inc. announced earlier this month that it has started to promote a "gender-free" concept ...
Osaka lavatory signs do more harm than good, say members of LGBT community
Restroom signs for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people have drawn an unexpected backlash from sexual minorities in Japan. The city of Osaka put a rainbow-colored sticker representing sexual diversity on the doors of unisex multipurpose restrooms in municipal government buildings in hopes of making ...
Democratic voters have chosen black and Latina women as their candidates for governor in Georgia and Texas, historic wagers for a party embracing minorities and women ahead of November's pivotal midterm elections. As President Donald Trump's Republicans struggle to craft a strategy for defending their ...
Komae's deputy mayor calls on mayor to quit, says sex harassment claims true
An internal probe confirms Kunihiko Takahashi sexually harassed women on the city’s staff, but the mayor is staying mum on the issue.
LGBTQ voices: Embracing progress
Ahead of Tokyo Rainbow Pride week later this month, we hear from from people in the LGBTQ community about recent moves to raise awareness of sexual minorities in Japan.
Online backlash against Sina Weibo a rare win for China's LGBT community
China's gay community scored a victory after a massively popular social media platform reversed a ban on "homosexual" content, but challenges remain in a country where LGBT culture remains taboo in the entertainment industry. Gay-themed films struggle to make it into movie theaters, same-sex relationships ...
Following outcry, China's Sina Weibo reverses course on gay content clean-up
China's Sina Weibo on Monday reversed a decision to remove gay content after outcry among gay Chinese who say the company had smeared homosexuality by lumping it with pornography as it tried to meet government censorship directives. China's Twitter-equivalent Weibo said Friday it would remove ...
'I am gay' protests as China bans 'homosexual' content on Weibo
China's Sina Weibo said it would remove "homosexual" content from the popular microblogging platform, prompting a storm of online protests Saturday under the hashtag "I am gay." Weibo said in a statement Friday it had begun a "clean-up campaign" to remove "illegal" content, including "manga ...
Japan can end child marriage at home, and help end it abroad
Japan is joining this important global fight by setting the minimum marriage age at 18. As the world's third-largest economy, Japan should not stop there.
A Chinese film festival has pulled the award-winning gay romance "Call Me By Your Name" from its program, the movie's distributor said Monday, reflecting China's inconsistent relationship with gay themes in the creative arts. The movie, which won a screenplay Oscar this month, was withdrawn ...
