Members of sexual minorities working at Shinto shrines took to social media to express their disgust at a pamphlet handed out at a gathering of Diet members this summer that portrayed them as sufferers of an “acquired disorder.”

A group calling itself “Shinto LGBTQ plus Liaison Council” posted a statement to this effect on Twitter on Nov. 14.

A shrine worker in the Kansai region who identifies as non-binary played a coordinating role in the protest after learning about the brochure distributed at the gathering of lawmakers in June.

“Apologies should be offered for spreading prejudice and discriminating against sexual minorities,” said one protester in the statement. “The leaflet should be retracted, and its publication should cease immediately.”

Copies of the pamphlet were handed out to legislators who back an ideology similar to that espoused by Shinto Seiji Renmei, or the Shinto Association of Spiritual Leadership, during a meeting of Diet members held June 13 at a Tokyo hotel.

The association is a support group of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. 

The pamphlet contained an excerpt of a lecture given by Yang Sang Jin, a professor of Christian education at Hirosaki Gakuin University in Aomori Prefecture, northern Japan.

“People are not born homosexual. It is an acquired psychological disorder or addiction,” Yang wrote. “It is possible to kick the addiction if a person has a strong will to do so.”

The Shinto Association of Spiritual Leadership was formed in 1969 as an affiliate of the Association of Shinto Shrines, an influential group representing about 80,000 shrines nationwide.

Three protesters who raised their voices against the content in the statement work at shrines belonging to the Shinto Association of Spiritual Leadership.

The pamphlet was jointly published by the association and the group of Diet members who endorse the association’s views. As of Sept. 26, the group had a membership of 258 legislators, most of them LDP lawmakers.

“I am afraid the brochure from the association is regarded as representing the opinions of people working at shrines,” said another opponent of the pamphlet. “It is a matter of concern if we were taken as those complicit in discrimination” against sexual minorities.

The statement called on all officials of shrines to announce pledges to oppose discrimination.

The excerpt also stated that the sexual activities of sexual minorities should not be tolerated as they constitute a social issue that has the potential to destroy families and society.

Yang’s lecture was given at a workshop held by the association in February, according to a lawyer for the organization.  

The pamphlet starts out with a piece written under the name of Fumihiro Uchida, chairman of the association, expressing concern about moves to enact legislation allowing same-sex marriages, allowing married couples to choose separate surnames and promoting public awareness of sexual minorities.

“It is feared that such moves would not only transform the way families are now, but also give a bad influence on children, future leaders of society, and cause great confusion in social life,” the piece read.

The leaflet also carried the views and excerpts of lectures by three others on these issues.

Most of the shrines have remained silent about a public outcry that erupted on social media after publication of the brochure was first reported.

Critics called it “discriminatory” and a “violation of human rights.”

According to a group of sexual minorities seeking legislation guaranteeing their rights, none of 32 leading shrines has replied to its questionnaire about their views on sexual diversity when it polled them with regard to a separate matter.

Contacted for comment by The Asahi Shimbun, the Shinto Association of Spiritual Leadership denied through a lawyer that the content of the pamphlet represented its stance on the issue.

“We are not in a position to answer whether we back individual views and opinions carried in the pamphlet as they do not show our stance,” the association’s statement said.

It added that distribution of the pamphlet was halted on advice from experts and that in general, sexual minorities should not be discriminated against.

The Asahi also asked the association to give specific examples of “bad influence” and “confusion” in connection with the text printed under the name of Uchida.  

But the association declined to elaborate.

Yang of Hirosaki Gakuin University did not reply despite an inquiry from Asahi about his lecture.

PHOTO
A pamphlet about sexual minorities distributed at a gathering of Diet members who share a conservative ideology espoused by the Shinto Association of Spiritual Leadership (The Asahi Shimbun)