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Japan debates LGBTQ protections under G7 spotlight

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2 years ago

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by Hiroshi Hiyama and Katie Forster

TOKYO, JAPAN — G7 host Japan is the group’s only member not to recognise same-sex unions, and ahead of this May’s summit the government is under pressure to bolster its legal protections for LGBTQ citizens.

But its ruling party is struggling to even agree on language outlawing discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.

The issue was thrust into the headlines this month after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida fired a top aide who said he didn’t “even want to look at” married same-sex couples.

Kishida called the remarks “outrageous” and “incompatible” with the inclusive society the government wants.

But Japan has no specific anti-LGBTQ discrimination law, and while polls show public support for marriage equality and other rights, ministers have taken a cautious approach.

“It’s a disgrace that Japan, as the G7 chair, is in this situation,” Akira Nishiyama, executive officer at LGBTQ rights group J-ALL, told AFP.

Nishiyama considers it “shameful” that Japan still lacks legal provisions for the community, despite Kishida last year signing a G7 pledge to ensure equal opportunities and protections regardless of sexuality or gender identity.

Lawmakers are discussing a bill that promotes the “understanding” of LGBTQ issues.

First mooted in 2015, the bill saw a swell of interest ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, but its passage was waylaid by conservative members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

Opponents insist a proposed anti-discrimination clause could deepen social divisions or open up companies and individuals to malicious lawsuits.

But campaigners say LGBTQ people often struggle to make discrimination claims in Japan under more general laws, so passing a bill without the clause leaves them vulnerable.

Some might describe a law promoting understanding as a “first step for society, but it’s kind of a compromise. I don’t want to compromise for human rights… we need a law to protect them,” Gon Matsunaka, head of Pride House Tokyo, told AFP.

Partnership certificates

The government is under pressure to show progress before the G7 leaders’ gathering in May.

Last week, Jessica Stern, Washington’s international special envoy on LGBTQ rights, agreed with the leader of Komeito, the LDP’s junior coalition partner, that the law should pass before the summit

“It is important that we end suffering and create a society where diverse people can co-exist and live in dignity,” Komeito head Natsuo Yamaguchi said after their meeting.

Society appears to have moved faster than the government, with a poll by Kyodo News agency this week finding 64 percent of respondents think Japan should recognise same-sex marriage, with 25 percent against the idea.

Other polls have shown similar support and dozens of major municipalities, including Tokyo, now offer partnership certificates that allow same-sex couples to be treated as married in areas such as housing, medicine and welfare.

Many big Japanese businesses also offer the same family benefits to LGBTQ and heterosexual employees.

Activists have tried to pressure lawmakers in the courts, arguing that the ban on same-sex marriage violates the constitution, but verdicts so far have been mixed.

‘Momentum building’

Japan is not an outlier in Asia, where Taiwan is the only place with marriage equality, and Kishida has said same-sex marriage would “change society” so lawmakers must be “extremely careful in considering the matter”.

Compared with the more right-wing members of his party, Kishida’s views are “relatively moderate”, said James Brady, vice president of international consultancy Teneo.

The LDP’s diversity efforts are largely economically driven and are “limited by traditional views of what Japanese society should look like and what roles people should play”, he said.

Same-sex marriage is unlikely to be on the agenda anytime soon, said Hiroyuki Taniguchi, a professor in human rights law at Aoyama Gakuin University.

But “momentum is building, and it’s possible that something will change”, such as including same-sex couples in legal frameworks like pensions, he told AFP.

Still, Taniguchi warned that this momentum could be lost if no progress is made before the G7 summit.

“If change fails to happen within this timeframe, it’s possible that social disinterest will return,” he said.

“Japan needs to keep the promises it makes.”

— AFP

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AFP

Singapore hangs 14th drug convict since last year

Singapore executed Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, convicted of drug trafficking, amid a resumption of executions in 2022. Another woman prisoner, Saridewi Djamani, faces execution.

Amnesty International urged Singapore to halt the executions, questioning the deterrent effect of the death penalty.

Published

1 year ago

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26 July 2023

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SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE — Singapore on Wednesday hanged a local man convicted of drug trafficking, officials said, two days before the scheduled execution of the first woman prisoner in the city-state in nearly 20 years.

Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, convicted and sentenced to death in 2017 for trafficking “not less than 49.98 grams” (1.76 ounces) of heroin, was executed at Changi Prison, the Central Narcotics Bureau said in a statement.

The 57-year-old was the 14th convict sent to the gallows since the government resumed executions in March 2022 after a two-year pause during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hussain’s previous appeals against his conviction and sentence had been dismissed, and a petition for presidential clemency was also denied.

A woman drug convict, 45-year-old Saridewi Djamani, is scheduled to be hanged on Friday, according to the local rights group Transformative Justice Collective (TJC).

She was sentenced to death in 2018 for trafficking around 30 grams of heroin.

If carried out, Djamani would be the first woman executed in Singapore since 2004, when 36-year-old hairdresser Yen May Woen was hanged for drug trafficking, according to TJC activist Kokila Annamalai.

Singapore has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws — trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis or over 15 grams of heroin can result in the death penalty.

Rights watchdog Amnesty International on Tuesday urged Singapore to halt the executions, saying there was no evidence the death penalty acted as a deterrent to crime.

“It is unconscionable that authorities in Singapore continue to cruelly pursue more executions in the name of drug control,” Amnesty death penalty expert Chiara Sangiorgio said in a statement.

Singapore, however, insists that the death penalty has helped make it one of Asia’s safest countries.

Among those hanged since last year was Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, whose execution sparked a global outcry, including from the United Nations and British tycoon Richard Branson, because he was deemed to have a mental disability.

— AFP

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AFP

Singapore to execute first woman in nearly 20 years: rights groups

Singapore set to execute two drug convicts, including first woman in 20 years, despite rights groups’ calls to stop.

Published

1 year ago

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25 July 2023

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SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE — Singapore is set to hang two drug convicts this week, including the first woman to be sent to the gallows in nearly 20 years, rights groups said Tuesday, while urging the executions be halted.

Local rights organisation Transformative Justice Collective (TJC) said a 56-year-old man convicted of trafficking 50 grams (1.76 ounces) of heroin is scheduled to be hanged on Wednesday at the Southeast Asian city-state’s Changi Prison.

A 45-year-old woman convict who TJC identified as Saridewi Djamani is also set to be sent to the gallows on Friday. She was sentenced to death in 2018 for trafficking around 30 grams of heroin.

If carried out, she would be the first woman to be executed in Singapore since 2004 when 36-year-old hairdresser Yen May Woen was hanged for drug trafficking, said TJC activist Kokila Annamalai.

TJC said the two prisoners are Singaporeans and their families have received notices setting the dates of their executions.

Prison officials have not answered emailed questions from AFP seeking confirmation.

Singapore imposes the death penalty for certain crimes, including murder and some forms of kidnapping.

It also has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws: trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis and 15 grams of heroin can result in the death penalty.

At least 13 people have been hanged so far since the government resumed executions following a two-year hiatus in place during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rights watchdog Amnesty International on Tuesday urged Singapore to halt the impending executions.

“It is unconscionable that authorities in Singapore continue to cruelly pursue more executions in the name of drug control,” Amnesty’s death penalty expert Chiara Sangiorgio said in a statement.

“There is no evidence that the death penalty has a unique deterrent effect or that it has any impact on the use and availability of drugs.

“As countries around the world do away with the death penalty and embrace drug policy reform, Singapore’s authorities are doing neither,” Sangiorgio added.

Singapore insists that the death penalty is an effective crime deterrent.

— AFP

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