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# Tokyo politician blames LGBTQ+ community for falling birth rates
- URL: https://www.scenemag.co.uk/tokyo-politician-blames-lgbtq-community-for-falling-birth-rates/
- Published: 2020-10-08T11:11:41.000Z
- Updated: 2020-10-08T09:53:29.000Z
- Description: Masateru Shiraishi of Japan’s ruling party has faced criticism after claiming his north Tokyo ward would ‘no longer exist’ if LGBTQ+ people had legal protections.
- Author: Rachel Badham
- Tags: News, Politics, japan, LGBTQ, Tokyo

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/pride-from-japan.jpg)

78-year-old **Masateru Shiraishi** of Japan’s ruling **Liberal Democratic Party** has faced criticism after claiming his north **Tokyo** ward would ‘no longer exist’ if LGBTQ+ people had legal protections. According to reports from the **[Japan Times](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/10/06/national/masateru-shiraishi-adachi-tokyo-lgbt-discrimination/?ref=scenemag.co.uk)**, Shiraishi asked *“this is impossible, but if all Japanese women were lesbian or all Japanese men were gay, then do you think the next generation would be born?”* at an assembly session of Tokyo’s Adachi ward. He said this during a conversation about falling birth rates in Japan.

He also added: *“I do not intend to interfere in the life of someone who is lesbian or gay. But, getting married, having children and raising them in a normal way is very important for people.”* His remarks have sparked backlash from LGBTQ+ activists in Japan, with head LGBTQ+ organisation **Fair**, **Soshi Matsuoka**, saying *“I strongly resent the fact that a person with such discriminatory ideas can serve as a politician.”*

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/soshi-matsuoka.jpg)

Soshi Matsuoka, head of LGBTQ+ organisation Fair

Twitter users have also expressed anger at Shiraishi’s comment, with one person[ saying](https://twitter.com/wouldhaus/status/1312392867843764224?ref=scenemag.co.uk) it demonstrated a *“complete lack of understanding of sexuality”* and branding it blatant discrimination. Another [said](https://twitter.com/writerRichieK/status/1312657342073192448?ref=scenemag.co.uk) he was ‘oblivious’ about the difficulties of raising children that may be discouraging people from starting families.