Japan’s PM fires aide over homophobic comments

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday fired an aide who said he wouldn’t want to live next to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender couples and warned that people would flee Japan if same-sex marriage was permited.

In remarks reported by local media, Masayoshi Arai, an economy and trade official who joined Kishida’s staff as a secretary in October, added he did not even want to look at same-sex couples.

“His comments are outrageous and completely incompatible with the administration’s policies,” Kishida said in remarks aired by public broadcaster NHK.

Speaking to reporters later in the day, the Japanese leader said he had dismissed Arai, who had earlier apologised for “misleading” comments made on Friday.

Arai’s comments had come ater Kishida had said in parliament that same-sex marriage needed careful consideration because of its potential impact on the family structure.

This week, the prime minister told parliament that same-sex marriage would “affect society” and therefore lawmakers needed to be “extremely careful in considering the mater.”

More than a dozen couples have filed lawsuits in district courts across Japan arguing the ban on same-sex marriage violates the constitution.

The incident is an embarrassment for Kishida as he prepares to host other leaders from Group of Seven nations in May.

Unlike Japan, which has been ruled by the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) for most of the past seven decades, the rest of the G7 allow marriage or civil unions for same-sex couples.

According to recent opinion polls, Kishida’s public support has halved to around 30% since last year following a series of scandal-tainted resignations by senior officials.

Among those who stepped down was Mio Sugita, an internal affairs and communications vice minister, who quit in December over controversial comments about LGBT people, and about Japan’s indigenous Ainu community.