By SHIN KASAHARA/ Staff Writer
June 9, 2021 at 18:41 JST
Julia Longbottom, Britain's ambassador to Japan (Provided by the British Embassy in Tokyo)
Britain's ambassador posted a tweet calling on the Japanese government to provide “political leadership” to create a nondiscriminatory society for sexual minorities under the hashtag “DontBeSilent.”
Julia Longbottom's tweet was in response to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's decision to abandon plans to submit cross-party legislation in the current Diet session to fight discrimination against sexual minorities.
“Just like many people in Japan, I want a society where anyone can live freely regardless of their sexual or gender identity,” Longbottom tweeted in Japanese on her official Twitter account on June 4. “Political leadership is essential in realizing that.”
She agreed to be interviewed by The Asahi Shimbun and provided written answers in English on June 8.
“I wanted to tweet my support for this issue in Japan,” she said when asked about her intentions.
“All of us who want to see progress need to stand up for progress,” she stressed. “I hope that my tweet helped to demonstrate that.”
When asked her views on the Japanese government’s response to the issue of sexual minorities’ rights, she replied, “It is not for the U.K. to say how the Japanese Government should make progress in support of LGBT+ rights.”
But, she added, “as I said in my tweet, political leadership is essential in creating a society where people can live freely, regardless of their sexual identity or gender identity.”
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