Photo/Illutration Gay activists and their supporters demand swift enactment of legislation to promote understanding of the LGBT community and ban discrimination against sexual minorities at a news conference in Tokyo on April 28. (Aya Shioiri)

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party rushed May 8 to unveil a modified bill to promote understanding of LGBT issues in the hope it will secure Diet approval prior to the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima starting May 19.

It tinkered with the original bill drawn up two years ago by a group of cross-party lawmakers to address concerns voiced by conservative-leaning lawmakers in the LDP and presented it to an inter-party meeting.

Once it has gained approval within the party, the LDP intends to submit the bill to the Diet as early as the end of this week.

The original bill stated that “Discrimination because of sexual orientation and gender identity is unacceptable.”

In the modified bill, “discrimination” was replaced with “unreasonable discrimination.”

The original bill used the Japanese term “Sei Jinin” to refer to “sexual orientation and gender identity.”

The modified bill replaces it with “Sei Doitsusei,” which means virtually the same thing. (Literally translated, “Sei Jinin” means sexual self-recognition and “Sei Doitsusei” means sexual identity).

The LDP made these modifications because some lawmakers feared the original wording could encourage lawsuits over discrimination.

Some LDP Diet members who opposed the original bill expressed qualified approval for the modified bill during the May 8 meeting.

As Japan is this year’s G-7 host, the ruling party is under pressure to show it is committed to addressing LGBT issues.

LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi said at a news conference on May 8, “It is desirable that we submit the bill as soon as possible.”

The LDP will inevitably face a backlash from opposition parties because the bill it will submit to the Diet was originally drafted by cross-party lawmakers and then modified by the ruling party to suit its convenience, observers said.

Given that the proposed legislation needs to be debated in the Diet, it remains unclear whether it will be enacted before the summit starts.