Enlarge image
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has been in office since October 2021.
Photo: AFP
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has fired a senior government official for making derogatory remarks about same-sex couples.
Masayoshi Arai's comments were "outrageous and totally inconsistent" with Japan's "aspiration to an inclusive society" that recognizes diversity, Kishida told reporters on Saturday.
He had therefore "decided to relieve him of his post as secretary".
Arai was one of Kishida's secretaries.
He doesn't want them as neighbors
Arai told reporters on Friday night, according to state broadcaster NHK, that he "didn't even want to look at" married same-sex couples.
He wouldn't like having her as a neighbor.
People would "leave the country if we allow same-sex marriages."
The secretary later apologized for his statements.
Prime Minister Kishida said in parliament this week that same-sex marriages "harm society," so MPs must be "extremely careful when examining the matter."
Couples sued for recognition of same-sex partnerships
Japan is the only industrialized country in the G7 group that has not yet recognized same-sex partnerships.
More than a dozen couples had complained because they see it as a violation of the constitution.
A court in Tokyo in November criticized an "unconstitutional situation", but at the same time stuck to the definition of marriage laid down in the constitution.
The 1947 Constitution of Japan stipulates that marriage must be consensual and that men and women have equal rights.
In a poll released in 2021 by Japanese broadcaster NHK, 57 percent of respondents said they would support the introduction of "marriage for all."
Government approval ratings are falling
According to surveys, approval ratings for Kishida's government have halved to 30 percent since he took office in 2021 following numerous scandals.
Several senior members of the government have resigned in recent years.
A justice minister resigned after making a joke about the death penalty.
The Olympic Committee chairman resigned after saying women talked too much.
npa/ap/afp/reuters