Is it true gay people have hard times in japan? i heard a lot of homosexuals in japan have double live like married to opposite sex but had secret live behind their's family and friends. they even really afraid to come-out coz society labeled them freaks.

i know this problems is happen all over the world, but for modern country like japan is kinda unbelievable.

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I can't answer your question, but I've heard the same things. It's surprising to me because in the West the biggest opposers to homosexuality are religious people. I figured accepting to LGBT people wouldn't be as big a deal in countries that are less religious.

It is definitely not the best place to be a LGBT person, however it is not as bad as you could think.
Well, reading this Wikipedia page could be enlightening.
All in all, being a LGBT person in Japan is quite more difficult than in USA and far from LGBT friendly countries like Netherlands or Sweden. And closeted people exist even in Sweden and Netherlands.

Last edited by GuttedGnome at 2:58 pm, Nov 30 2013

aah... not sure why you'd think Japanese aren't religious... not Christian but they're definitely religious (which is completely different from "homophobia" abroad)

in General more "Westernized cultures" are more tolerant towards diversity, having lived in Japan China HK and with many Korean nationals I would say the prevalent sentiment towards gays is worse than say in the U.S.

its a cultural thing abroad, not religiously justified hate, ethnocentric hate, of course this is no reason to fear being tied to a pole and beaten to death for being gay in eastern Asia like may happen in some secluded American backroad bars

Malaysia Singapore Thailand India and Taiwan from what I understand are a little more accepting

Makes you ponder... why all bad guys in old Chinese movies had a gay underling?...

Why is it surprising? Asian culture is absolutely notorious about sculpting everyone to fit into the norm.

The issue isn't "religious" in the same way that Western culture swing the bible as a cudgel. In places like Korea, China, and Japan it's expected that you marry early, raise a family, and spend your working days providing for your family. Being in a homosexual relationship means you failed in your life duties.

I apologize if I was wrong, but I was under the impression that religion wasn't very important to most Japanese people. I know that there is Buddhism and Shinto, but I didn't know that it was of major importance to their lives.

@wolfinthesheep it was surprising to me when I didn't know a lot about Japanese culture and my only exposure was anime and manga. They seem to have no problem with having LGBT characters in their anime. Like for instance in Sailor Moon, which I watched as a kid. An American show wouldn't have put an LGBT character in a series intended for kids (it might be changing now, but there's no way this would've happened 20 years ago. For the American version they changed the characters and made them cousins instead of a lesbian couple).

Anyway, seeing all of the LGBT characters in anime and how they were treated (there may have been some teasing, but the other characters in the anime usually come to accept them) I initially thought that it wasn't a big issue in Japan.

You'll find that most LGBT content in anime and manga falls into the "fanservice" category. Gay characters are aimed at the female audience, lesbian characters for males, and even transgender characters for either. And, just like how real lesbians and homosexuals often find lesbian/gay porn extremely unappealing, LGBT content in anime and manga isn't exactly aimed to please the people they "represent".

Also, Japanese media has much less issue with fictional material than North American media does. Even if something is socially taboo, having a fictional about that taboo won't have nearly the same mainstream moral guardian uproar because it's...well, fictional.


About religion, denominations like Buddhism and Shinto are much less "intrusive" than things like Judaism or Christianity. You give offerings at shrines, you arrange your house to ward off evil, you have a mentality to attract good karma, etc. To someone only accustomed to Western religions, the whole thing seems much more like "pagan superstition".

On the opposite side, someone growing up with (many) Asian religions will find a bible-originated religion very extreme, and possibly cultish.

"The nail that stick out gets hammered down." Goes the Japanese proverb. Conforming to societal roles is deeply ingrained within many cultures worldwide. Men are expected to be tough workers that have wives and children. Women are expected to be supportive homemakers raising babies. This has been the ideal for many civilizations. And people who have spent their whole lives preparing to model after this ideal can't fathom that there are actually people that would be happier with different circumstances. Even within homosexual relationships you'll still find the ideal ingrained within them, you can find a dominant, masculine partner and a submissive, feminine partner. That may come naturally to them, but I've heard certain roles have been forced on a partner.

"So who's the woman?" "So who's the man?"
Is asked a lot. Even in western societies.

People in general will ostracize anyone outside of a one man and one woman relationship if they're ignorant and insensitive enough. The best part though, is when they scramble for excuses as to why anything other than heterosexuality should be shoved into a closet.

This pretty much. Asia compared to the West is much less willing to recognize homosexuality. It's basically taboo.

Quick Google search on the matter.

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coming from korea. homosexuality is definitely not accepted here. people will treat you with discrimination, you can get fired at work. It's not that people think "homosexuality is sin against God, here's the bible" (well i'm preety sure there are some people like that, but it's not a majority)

People do not like things that are not 'normal' and does not want to adapt their ways to make room for the unusual. There are even some people that pity the homosexuals but will not go out of their way to change the way society is already structured. It's a competitive society, and if you don't fit the norm, then why should any company hire someone with a risk? There's still little education regarding homosexuality at school and whatever is weird, is not accepted.

on the other hand, in a setting where homosexuality is normal, it's accepted. I know, it's weird, but think about how the singer "Harisu" made her debut. There's even a street in Iteawon (the foerigner's district) called "Homo street" yes, that's the legit name of the actual street, located right beside the "Hooker street". guess what that street's popular for? but this is only acceptable because "homo street" is in Iteawon, and Itaewon is supposed to be place where foreigners and party-goers gather.

on the other hand, i never really heard of violent crimes against homosexuals. a lot of discrimination, getting fired at workplace and being disowned by their families, rejected by friends and suicide. but not many people seem to go around the block with a knife on their hand stabbing the nearest sign of gayness.

Last edited by Hespia Klarerin at 11:39 pm, Nov 30 2013

It's worth noting that there's much the same attitude and prejudice against, say, being a single working mother, or having a parent who's gone to jail for a major crime. Maybe not the same degree of prejudice, but you get the idea...

Asian cultures (well, China, Japan and Korea, from what I know) place a very high level of priority on public image. As long as other people view you as fitting into the ideal expectation of normalcy for your position in life, then everything's fine. What you do outside the public eye is your own business, as long it does not become connected to your reputation or your family's reputation (and family honour is another very big deal).

The end result is that people in Asian societies end up being extremely two-faced. Something like being in a homosexual relationship is considered horrifying and wrong, but having a wife and kids and a steady job while having a discreet homosexual affair is...well, not accepted, but overlooked, as long as your reputation is never brought into question.

Do you think Asian countries are becoming more accepting of homosexuality (or any deviance from what is normal and expected)? And if not, is this something that you could see happening in the future? We all know a lot of progress has been made in Western countries, and I was wondering if Asia is going the same way.

It definately improved compaired to 2000, when people didn't even know what gay means. A lot of younger age generation understand what homosexuality is and is willing to make ways for them. The older generation usually don't care as long as they're in closet.

So when the generations die out and switch, we'll be more accepting. Currently i think koteans think that same sex marriage is too much of a hassel.