Today's feature is:
Taiga Ishikawa (石川 大我 Ishikawa Taiga)
✿Background Info:
Ishikawa is a politician in Japan and has become one of the first openly gay male politicians to win an election. He assumed office in April 2011 to a seat in the Tokyo's Toshima ward assembly. In an interview with Gay Star News, Ishikawa stated that he hopes to go into the national government, but for now he is just trying to change Toshima ward.
✿Making it Over the Rainbow:
Growing up in Sugamo, Ishikawa had to hide his sexuality, and it was a very difficult feat for him, especially when all of the other boys his age were talking about their favorite female idols. Even through his college years, Ishikawa continued to stay mostly in the closet. In 1999, after his father bought a computer and asked for his help with a website, Ishikawa discovered the wonderful world of the internet where he found other individuals in his situation. When he was 26, he met a gay man for the first time in person.
The acquaintanceship encouraged him to write his 2002 memoir
Boku no kareshi wa doko ni iru?, meaning
Where is My Boyfriend? This was his official coming out.
When asked in the Gay Star News interview if he has experienced homophobia with fellow politicians, Ishikawa replied that the younger people are okay with it, but the elderly are more conservative. This holds especially true for the men.
Ishikawa's main goal with his position is to tackle LGBT rights. This includes protection rights against discrimination and partnership rights. Rather than marriage, Ishikawa thinks civil unions are more suitable for Japan. He says that society has to change before most gays would even consider getting married. "I think that once the law is changed, the people will change. Japanese people are very obedient of the law," he said.
One of his greatest successes is the new gender equality plan for Toshima Ward, which "says we must help the wider public to understand sexual
minorities." He said, "This is just the start, I want to open a LGBT centre in Toshima, set-up
an LGBT support telephone- line and open an LGBT counselling service.
It’s a big dream. But this is the first level."
More quotes from his interview with Gay Star:
"As I see it, there need to be four changes in Japanese society to improve life for LGBT people.
One,
that LGBT people know that each other exist and contact each other to
prevent isolation. The second is that straight people know the truth
about LGBT people, not the rumours, the facts. In Japan many people have
misunderstandings about LGBT people.
The third is to have true
representation of gay people in the media. On TV there are a lot of gay
men but most of them are really camp and made fun of. The last one is
the politics."
"In Western countries LGBTs ask for their rights and others will give
them rights. In Japan if LGBT people ask for their rights directly
people may refuse it. It’s too direct. It’s not in the culture.
The ordinary people do not say they are gay-friendly, but also they do not say they are homophobic, they don’t say anything."
"In Japan the biggest problem is saying to your parents that you are gay,
especially for those in their twenties and teenagers. Most gay people
come to university in Tokyo after they graduate from high school to live
by themselves.
A recent survey of 18 to 31-year-old gay people
showed that 61% of them had come out to someone: 49% to friends, 23% to
their mother and 15% to their father.
The same survey asked
they’d had any life troubles because they are gay. 86% said yes. Of
these, 67% said they’d felt isolation, 65% said their relationship with
their friends had suffered and 35% said their relationship with their
parents had suffered. When asked if they’d even considered suicide
because they are gay, 36% said yes.
A large 88% said they had
received negative information about being gay, 56% from the media, 55%
from school (teachers and friends) and 22% from family."
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