Global Courant 2023-05-21 10:35:53
Since taking up his post as US ambassador to Japan last year, Rahm Emanuel has showered his host country with enthusiastic tweets about world-class driving ball trains And subwayshiking MountFuji or sampling local treats and festivals.
He also greeted regularly company leaders And politicians immediately pleasant spirit that contradicts the reputation of a china shop he built as President Barack Obama’s chief of staff and as mayor of Chicago. By doing so, he has established himself as a champion of Japan’s performance.
But a recent series of posts about gay and transgender rights, culminating in a video Mr Emanuel, posted on Twitter earlier this month, has sparked much anger among conservatives in Japan. Critics say the ambassador has overstepped the boundaries of diplomacy and engaged in unwanted interference in domestic policy.
As Japanese legislators debated a controversial bill declaring that there should be “no unfair discrimination” against the gay and transgender community, Mr. , gay marriage. Japan is the only Group of 7 country that has not legalized same-sex unions.
“With all the challenges we all face – from the effects of climate change, wars, civil strife, hunger – the last thing that should be taking up our energy is two people who love each other and want to build a life together,” said mr. said Emanuel in the video. “Together, let’s remain loyal to the Japanese Constitution and to the Japanese people.”
The video was posted just a week before members of the Group of 7 were due to meet in Hiroshima. Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party submitted the LGBTQ bill to full parliament on Thursday, a day before the summit began.
While polls show that more than 70 percent of the Japanese public support same-sex marriage, conservatives have hesitated to expand such rights, often citing Japan’s traditional family structure.
“If Ambassador Emanuel wishes to use his position as US Ambassador to Japan in any way to influence Japan, we will take immediate action to allow him to return to his country,” wrote Masamune Wada, a liberal Democratic member of the upper house of the United States. de Diet, as the Japanese parliament is called, in a Twitter post that has been liked more than 27,000 times. “How we can promote understanding for LGBT people, we have to decide at home.”
Kaori Arimoto, a journalist, wrote in an evening editorial of the right-wing newspaper Sankei that it was “an arrogant and scandalous act by an ambassador to Japan to interfere with the culture of another country, especially one with a history of 2000 years.”
The pushback caught the attention of Fox News, where Masako Ganaha, another journalist known for her right-wing views, appeared on “Fox & Friends” earlier this month and said there was “no discrimination against LGBT people in Japan” and argued that Mr. Emanuel pushed for the “destruction of our culture”.
In an interview, Mr. Emanuel that while LGBTQ rights were something “I personally care passionately about”, his advocacy was intended to support majority opinion in Japan.
“The Japanese public has been clear about their position of inclusion and equality,” said Mr Emanuel. “So I’m not a solo voice.” He added, “All I’ve done is advocate for US policy.”
While not alone, Mr Emanuel can carry weight in a country where activists often call on foreign supporters to help them amplify their message. There is even a word – “gaiatsu” – that refers to foreign pressure that helps move political leaders on issues for which they hold more entrenched opinions than the wider public.
“There are voices of support domestically,” said Soshi Matsuoka, founder of Fair, an LGBTQ advocacy group based in Tokyo. “But those voices are being ignored. So when it comes to government, it can help to have outside voices.”
Takeshi Iwaya, a Liberal Democrat member of the lower house of parliament and sponsor of the LGBTQ rights bill, said his own opinion had partially changed after attending a symposium on marriage equality at the Mexican embassy in Tokyo.
“I realized that being with the person you love is an important value,” said Mr. Iwaya. “So if understanding increases even more, I don’t think it’s impossible to legalize same-sex marriage in our country.”
In international contexts, Japan has already joined in support of gay and transgender rights. The leaders’ communiqué released Saturday at the G7 summit in Hiroshima pledged to create a society where “all people can enjoy a vibrant life free of violence and discrimination, regardless of gender identity or expression or sexual orientation.”
Those who know American politics point out that the United States itself still struggles with issues of equality. Although the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in 2015, transgender rights in particular have become a lightning rod for American conservatives in recent times.
And with so many foreign policy priorities, some wonder if Mr. Emanuel is on the right track.
“If Ambassador Emmanuel’s goal is to secure closer relations between the United States and Japan, this may not be the best topic for him to really go through,” said Shihoko Goto, deputy director of the Asia program at the Wilson Centre. in Washington.
Mr. Emanuel is not the first US ambassador to cause a stir in Japan by publicly urging society to change. Caroline Kennedy, Tokyo’s envoy from 2013 to 2017, upset her hosts when she sharply criticized the “inhumanity” of Japan’s bloody annual dolphin hunt.
Many Japanese consider hunting a part of traditional culture and are stunned by Mrs. Kennedy’s Twitter denunciation of the practice.
Analysts note that Japan also sometimes speaks out about foreign actions. For example, in the United States and European countries, the Japanese government has protested when local groups erected statues or other memorials to so-called comfort women, sex slaves from Korea and other Asian countries who were conscripted to serve Japanese soldiers during the World War. II.
Referring to such activity, Jennifer Robertsonan anthropologist at the University of Michigan specializing in gender and sexuality in Japan said that “As for the candor of the ambassadors, I think the most conservative members of the LDP and the Japanese media are really hypocritical.”
Maybe it all just comes with the territory. Ichiro Fujisaki, a former Japanese ambassador to Washington, said he “doubts Japanese people in general are so disturbed by ambassadors’ comments.”
He added: “They’re used to it.”
