Amaël Cognacq

“Basically, in Japan, homosexuality’s existence itself is outrightly denied. I cannot be satisfied by this,” says a lesbian student at the University of Tokyo.

In Japan, same-sex couples do not exist legally. Socially, homosexuality lacks both recognition and representation. In this uncomfortable situation, how do LGBT students of the University of Tokyo feel about their future? What can everyone do to raise awareness and create recognition of homosexuals and open the debate for their rights?

The rainbow flag, symbol of the LGBT social movement. Image by Benson Kua.

LGBT is an umbrella term that stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender. The first three initials, LGB, describe non-heterosexual orientations, while T stands for people who feel that their gender assigned at birth does not match who they are. In order to avoid confusion and also because of the lack of transgender students who answered the survey conducted, this…