Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida intends to remove from office one of his executive secretaries, Masayoshi Arai, in connection with discriminatory remarks against sexual minorities, the Kyodo news agency reported on Saturday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th February, 2023) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida intends to remove from office one of his executive secretaries, Masayoshi Arai, in connection with discriminatory remarks against sexual minorities, the Kyodo news agency reported on Saturday.
Arai, commenting on Kishida's recent statement that recognizing same-sex marriages would require "extreme caution," said on Friday that he would "not want to live next door" to an LGBT couple and that he does "not even want to look at them." The official later apologized and withdrew his comments, according to the news agency.
The Japanese prime minister, nevertheless, told reporters on Saturday that Arai's comments "cannot but force" the government to consider his future, the report said.
Later in the day, Kishida confirmed the decision to dismiss Arai from his post.
"I take this matter very seriously, so I decided to remove him (Arai) from his position. It is natural that I feel responsible for his appointment," the prime minister was quoted as saying by Kyodo.
Kishida noted that his aide's remarks were "inexcusable" and "totally contradicted" the cabinet's policies based on respect for diversity and inclusive society.
Arai will be replaced with Special Advisor to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Sadanori Ito, according to the Japanese news agency.
Japan is the only country in Group of Seven that is yet to recognize same-sex marriages. Representatives of the LGBT community argue that the government's failure to recognize same-sex marriage violates their constitutional rights.
