Although the awareness for the LGBT community has spread in Japan, at times it is still superficial. Some people even consider transgender as a disorder. Considering the international medical standards. this is out of line.

The government too, will not permit any kind of legal changes unless transgender people undergo surgery. Again, this is going against the international medical standards. In order to be sterilised, they have to go to family court, without being romantically involved with anyone, be under 20 years old and have an official diagnosis of “gender identity disorder”.

Humans have been and always be afraid of the unknown. Especially when it comes to misconceptions about illnesses, people are extra sensitive. Take HIV for example. When there was no clear researches on it people believed the disease could contaminate the air. Patients experienced discrimination. Like this, transgender is considered a disease hence in a way feared. Japanese people are also conservative, making it difficult to accept changes. Fear and the lack of knowledge are leading to stigma and even the government is not providing enough support.

To be honest, I feel it is not something that will change in the course of a decade. It may take many years, very slowly. But there have been changes in many countries and there are more accepting people. With more legislations and education, perhaps the day where LGBTQ+ people can live feeling safe will come sooner than we expect.