Majority of Japanese support same-sex marriage, poll shows
TOKYO — A majority of Japanese support changing the country’s laws to allow same-sex unions, with the highest backing coming from younger respondents, according to a poll.
Koyuki Higashi, right, and her partner, Hiroko Masuhara, left, holding a banner reading: "Congratulations: the same sex partnership ordinance" speak to the media in front of Shibuya ward office in Tokyo Tuesday, March 31, 2015 after Shibuya ward became the first locale in Japan to recognize same sex partnerships as the "equivalent of a marriage," guaranteeing the identical rights of married couples with a landmark vote by the ward assembly. Photo: AP
TOKYO — A majority of Japanese support changing the country’s laws to allow same-sex unions, with the highest backing coming from younger respondents, according to a poll.
Fifty-one per cent of people polled by researchers from universities and the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research back such partnerships, the Asahi newspaper reported. Support exceeded 70 per cent among respondents in their 20s and 30s, while 38 per cent in their 60s and 24 per cent in their 70s were in favour, the Asahi said.
This year, Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward became the country’s first local authority to recognise same-sex partnerships and this month started issuing “equivalency to marriage” certificates to gay couples. While the move has helped build momentum for same-sex marriage, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and some senior members of his party are cautious on the issue.
The survey also found 72 per cent of respondents said they’d feel reluctant to accept the fact their child is gay, according to the Asahi. The researchers conducted the survey in March, getting responses from 1,259 people. BLOOMBERG
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