October 13, 2022

A rally calling for Diet discussions regarding the protection of transgender people from human rights violations and discrimination took place on October 12 in the House of Councilors members’ office building.

The rally was organized by the transgender advocacy group “Transgender Japan”. It points out that the WHO removed the term “gender identity disorder” from its new official manual of diagnoses, the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), which was implemented in January. However, the group claims that in Japan, trans people wishing to legally change their gender status have to be diagnosed as having a “gender identity disorder”. It demands that legal requirements for a change of legal sex on a family register record be abolished as they violate trans people’s human rights.

In the rally, Igarashi Yuri, director of the Japan Alliance for Legislation to Remove Social Barriers based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (Japan Alliance for LGBT Legislation, J-ALL), reported that transgender people experience various forms of discrimination. As an example, she cited that transgender job seekers suffer unfair withdrawal of employment offers after they informed interviewers that they are transgender. Igarashi said, “Trans people suffer from the infringement of their right to free choice of employment. In order to eliminate discrimination against them, an enforceable law needs to be established."

Japanese Communist Party members of the House of Representatives Miyamoto Takeshi and Motomura Nobuko, and JCP members of the House of Councilors Ito Gaku, Nihi Sohei and Yamazoe Taku delivered speeches in solidarity. Along with the JCP parliamentarians, ruling and opposition party Dietmembers also gave speeches in solidarity.