Japan becomes first country in the world to elect a transgender man to a public office

Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:

No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
Times and dates in your local timezone.
Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.

If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

**Co'tor Shas**

Japan has become the first country in the world to elect a transgender man to a public office.

Tomoya Hosoda, 25, won 21 out of 22 seats to become a councillor for the city of Iruma, in the central region of Kanto.

Mr Hosoda said he does not just want to fight for LGBTQ rights but also for the rights of the disabled and the elderly, by constructing a system that embraces diversity and helps minorities, Japanese media reports.

“Until recently, people have acted as if sexual minorities do not exist. We have many hurdles to overcome, but I hope to live up to everyone’s expectations”, he told Stonewall, an organisation which supports LGBTQ people in Japan.

He added having received many messages of support and gratitude from the LGBTQ community ever since he announced his candidacy.

Mr Hosoda is the second transgender politician elected in Japan after Kamikawa Aya, a transgender woman who was elected as a Tokyo municipal official in 2003.

Mr Hosoda officially changed his name and gender in the family registry in 2015 after having come out and transitioned.

He has participated at various LGBTQ events and rook part in the Out in Japan campaign, an initiative to highlight the presence of homosexual and trans people in Japan.

In a profile for Out in Japan, Mr Hosoda said: “I thought that I could not be happy.

"But I remember to taking my courage and deciding to come out and hope to live.

“For me, coming out is just the starting line. Some walls can not be overcome by one person. But at such time, we have to work together and help each other out. By moving forward one step at a time and meeting all kinds of people people, ways of thinking and values started to change.”

He praises his parents, friends and relatives who have supported him and said he wanted to give courage to those who were afraid of coming out and opening the debate about LGBTQ people in Japan.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/japan-first-world-transgender-man-public-office-councillor-iruma-saitama-kanto-a7636641.html

Surprised it's Japan of all places (I don't think LGBTQ+ people are persicuted or anything in Japan, just not accepted the same as they are in other advanced nations). But good all the same. I look forward to the time in our future where this isn't a notable event.

**feeder**

Good for Japan.

**Frazzled**

Coolio

**AlmightyWalrus**

Just nitpicking, but if this man is the second transgender person in Japan to be elected, as per the article, how is this the first time a transgender person has been elected to public office in the world?

**Peregrine**

AlmightyWalrus wrote:
Just nitpicking, but if this man is the second transgender person in Japan to be elected, as per the article, how is this the first time a transgender person has been elected to public office in the world?

First transgender man. The other person in Japan was a woman.

**AlmightyWalrus**

Fair enough, I stand corrected.