In May, former defense minister Tomomi Inada tried to get the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s Policy Research Council and General Council to approve a bill that would promote Japanese people’s “understanding” of LGBTQ individuals and issues. She assumed that the Diet would pass the bill during the session that ended June 16, but hardline conservatives in the party objected to wording in the bill, and without unanimous approval it couldn’t proceed.
The press coverage of the matter has focused more on politics than on the content or purport of the bill. Inada has always been proud of her conservative credentials and obviously sees no conflict between those values and her support for sexual minorities in Japan, but certain colleagues and opinion-makers see this support as proof that she is veering from the true path.
As explained in a June 18 article on the News Post Seven website, part of Inada’s problem is that her presentation of the LGBTQ bill coincided with the presumed political resurgence of her mentor, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. News Post Seven says that Abe is exposing himself more readily to media scrutiny right now in a possible bid to regain the premiership. Conservatives applaud this move and have somehow identified Inada as a heretic in order to fortify Abe’s far-right support, even though in the past she was touted as his likely successor.