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Since taking over as US ambassador to Japan last year, Rahm Emanuel has been inundating the host country with enthusiastic tweets about world-class riding. bullet train and subwayhiking Mount Fuji or sampling local delicacies and feast.
He has also been regularly praised business boss and politician with a get along peacefully spirit who belied the bull-in-a-china-shop reputation he built as chief of staff for President Barack Obama and as mayor of Chicago. In doing so, he has become a champion in Japanese achievement.
But a new string of messages about gay and transgender rights, culminating in the videos Mr Emanuel’s release on Twitter earlier this month has drawn the attention of conservatives in Japan. Critics say the ambassador has overstepped the bounds of diplomacy and crossed into unwanted interference in domestic politics.
As a member of the Japanese parliament debating a controversial bill stating that “there is no unfair discrimination” against the gay and transgender community, Mr. Emanuel gathered a group of 15 foreign ambassadors in Tokyo to record a four-minute video nudging Japan to embrace LGBTQ rights and, by implication. , same-sex marriage. Japan is the only group of 7 countries that has not legalized same-sex unions.
“With all the challenges we all face – from the implications of climate change, war, civil strife, hunger – the last thing that should consume our energy is two people who love each other and want to build a life together,” Mr. Emanuel said in the video. “Together, let’s be loyal to the Japanese Constitution and the Japanese people.”
The video was posted just one week before Group 7 members were set to gather in Hiroshima. Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party brought an LGBTQ bill before the full Parliament on Thursday, a day before the summit began.
Although polls show that more than 70 percent of the Japanese public support same-sex marriage, conservatives oppose extending the right, often citing Japan’s traditional family structure.
“If Ambassador Emanuel wants to use his position as US ambassador to Japan in any way to influence Japan, we will take immediate action to return him to his country,” wrote Masamune Wada, a Liberal Democrat member of the upper house. The Diet, as the Japanese Parliament knows, in a Twitter post that has been liked more than 27,000 times. “How to promote the understanding of LGBT is a matter that we have to decide domestically.”
In an editorial in the evening tabloid owned by the right-wing Sankei newspaper, Kaori Arimoto, a journalist, wrote that “the arrogant and outrageous behavior of the ambassador in Japan to interfere in the culture of another country, especially one with a history of 2,000 years.”
The pushback caught the attention of Fox News, where Masako Ganaha, another journalist known for her right-leaning views, appeared on “Fox & Friends” earlier this month and said there was “no discrimination against LGBT people in Japan” and denied that. Mr. Emanuel pushed for the “destruction of our culture.”
In an interview, Mr. Emanuel said that although LGBTQ rights were “something I’m very passionate about,” his advocacy was intended as support for the majority opinion in Japan.
“The Japanese people have been clear about their position on inclusion and equity,” Mr. Emanuel said. “So I’m not a solo voice.” He added: “All I do is support US policy.”
Although not alone, Mr. Emanuel may carry weight in a country where activists often call on foreign supporters to help them amplify their message. There is even a word – “gaiatsu” – that refers to foreign pressure that helps political leaders on issues they hold stronger views than the wider public.
“There are supportive voices domestically,” said Soshi Matsuoka, founder of Fair, an LGBTQ advocacy group in Tokyo. “But those voices are being ignored. So when it comes to government, having an outside voice helps.
Takeshi Iwaya, a Liberal Democrat member of the lower house of Parliament and sponsor of the LGBTQ rights bill, said his own views had changed after he attended a symposium on marriage equality at the Mexican Embassy in Tokyo.
“I know that being with the people you love is an important value,” said Mr. Iwaya. “So if understanding increases, I don’t think it’s impossible to legalize same-sex marriage in our country.”
In an international setting, Japan has signed up to support gay and transgender rights. The leaders’ communique released on Saturday at the G7 summit in Hiroshima committed to creating a society where “everyone can enjoy a vibrant life free from violence and discrimination free of gender identity or sexual expression or orientation.”
Those who understand American politics say that the United States itself is still grappling with the question of equality. Although the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in 2015, transgender rights in particular have recently become a lightning rod for American conservatives.
And with so many foreign policy priorities, few question whether Mr. Emanuel is following the best path.
“If Ambassador Emanuel’s goal is to ensure closer ties between the United States and Japan, this may not be the best topic for him to pursue,” said Shihoko Goto, deputy director of the Asia Program at the Wilson Center. in Washington.
Mr. Emanuel is not the first American ambassador to cause trouble in Japan by pushing the public for change. Caroline Kennedy, the envoy to Tokyo from 2013 to 2017, upset her host when she criticized the “inhumaneness” of Japan’s annual dolphin hunt.
Many Japanese see the hunt as part of their traditional culture and are outraged by Ms. Kennedy about the practice.
Analysts note that Japan also sometimes talks about foreign actions. In the United States and European countries, for example, the Japanese government has protested when local groups created statues or other memorials to the so-called comfort women, sex slaves from Korea and other Asian countries who were forced to serve Japanese soldiers during the World War. II.
Referring to these activities, Jennifer Robertson, an anthropologist at the University of Michigan who specializes in gender and sexuality in Japan, said that “in terms of the ambassador’s openness, I think the members of the LDP and the most conservative Japanese media are hypocritical.”
Maybe it all just comes with the territory. Ichiro Fujisaki, Japan’s former ambassador to Washington, said it was “doubtful that Japan in general was bothered by the ambassador’s comments.”
He added: “He’s used to it.”
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