Politicians and civil rights leaders from sexual minority communities on Wednesday demanded a Liberal Democratic Party Diet member thoroughly explain what she meant by saying LGBT couples are "unproductive," and thus unworthy of government assistance.
Taiga Ishikawa, an openly gay lawmaker in the Toshima Ward Assembly in Tokyo, said he and other members of the Association of LGBT Municipal Representatives have sent a letter to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urging him to clearly denounce the comments made by Lower House member Mio Sugita.
In late July, Sugita penned an article questioning public support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people because they cannot bear offspring and thus are "unproductive."