Are LGBT people accepted in Japan?
07.06.2025 11:56
Openly gay people risk social discrimination despite Japan lacking laws against the orientation. Families have been known to disown gays and lesbians because of the dishonor they bring to the family and their inability to continue the lineage (Furnham & Saito, 2009).
This study revealed three important findings. (1) Similar to the findings of studies in Western societies, Japanese LGBT individuals typically consider coming out to their fathers considerably more difficult than coming out to their mothers. Moreover, many study participants expressed the absence of a significant relationship with their fathers, even before coming out—making coming out to their fathers unnecessary. (2) Similar to the findings in previous studies, Japanese mothers’ responses are often reactionary and abusive; in fact, a disproportionate number of Japanese lesbian, bisexual female, and transgender Female-to-Male/X-gender individuals reported their mothers’ markedly negative, personal responses, illustrating why some were reluctant to come out to their mothers. (3) By contrast, Japanese gay and transgender Male-to-Female/X-gender individuals reported their mothers’ responses were comparatively undemonstrative. Also, they typically attribute their mothers’ negative responses to the fact that mothers are the solo overseers of heteronormative norms at home.
Also there's no legality for same-sex marriage nor LGBT protection laws anyway respire the absence of Anti-LGBT laws. While gays are accepted more than lesbians, they still face stigma ranging from bullyism and familial rejection. Lesbians in particular face bullyism from their classmates and abuse from their parents for not being “girly enough”.
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It's important to know however that Japan is making progresses with LGBT community between 2018 and 2023.
The reason why lesbians are less accepted than gay men in Japan is because male homosexuality has historical precedents whereas female homosexuality defies the norm that a woman must devote to a man and bear children, so while both gays and lesbians face issues like familial rejection and social exclusion lesbians tend to experience stronger familial dissaproval and pressure to conform to heteronormative as gay men can still benefit from social privilegies as long they can marry women without erasing their identity which is unlike lesbians who must be “fixed” through het marriage and are considered a greater familial dishonor. Both lesbians and unmarried gays are considered “overgrown children” and face social exclusion and familial disownement as well.
Many Japanese homosexuals hide their orientation in order to avoid disappointing or troubling their friends and family (Furnham & Saito, 2009). Remember, Japanese society and identity revolves around the family. The family comes first, above the desires of the individual. Well, this is the ideal anyway.
Lesbians, in particular, face discrimination. Women who are not satisfied with marriage and childbearing are often seen as lacking and less than a real woman. Lesbians and unmarried gay men are not seen as adults. Lesbians experience intense pressure to appear heterosexual and interested in men (Chalmers, 2002). They also lack the historical precedents that gay men enjoy. To ice the cake, parents are thought to be the reason why a girl is a lesbian. Her sexual orientation is seen as a parental failure that can and should be corrected (Nakagawa, 2010).
Not exactly. Gay men are accepted in Japan but often treated less serious than het couples whereas lesbian couples are even marginalized more than gay men (I know from the reverence for yaois and the poor portrayals of yuri and the Psycho Lesbian stereotype and gays are more in Japan television than lesbians), which is the opposite of Western societies where lesbians are accepted more than gays. Video below