In Conclusion

I found the article “LGBT+ progress outpaces politics” from the Nikkei Asian Review most personally

impactful. I have learned a lot about a variety of LGBT+ topics in Japan, both from the Queer Life

and Culture in Japan class taught by Kanno-sensei, but also from my own personal interest in the

topic as a gay man living in currently living in and with a deep interest in Japan. Many of the things in

the article I had heard before: the majority of people’s opinions are quite different on same-sex

marriage and other LGBT+ rights issues than the stance of the government, the actions of those in

society (especially company administrations) who choose to discriminate against LGBT+ individuals

are left unchecked given the government’s lack of action, etc. But the article also provided me with

quite a bit of context and information I was not aware of, and also led me to make some of my own

realizations, which as a member of the LGBT+ community potentially looking to work and live in

Japan in the future, held quite a bit of weight.

One thing that this article also really got me thinking about was how Japan balances its

characteristics as an industrialized society with its traditional culture and cultural values. I had

thought about this while reading and writing my response, but the class discussion about this article

was where I was most challenged on my previous thinking about this. My previous thinking had been

that if Japan is a member of the community of industrialized societies, it cannot expect to be

exempted from “industrialized values,” which through our discussions, I realized I was conflating far

too much with Western values. Although I still think that Japanese society and all other societies

should work to progress LGBT+ rights, I have since come to understand that Japan is in its own

place on this issue, and thus requires different ways of progressing these rights.

I am not sure how much I think this class changed my views on life and events in the US, but I think

it has really made me realize how important discussing news with others is, as it fosters discussion

and sharing of opinions that can really help provide a variety of new perspectives on an issue. I think

this has the potential to be particularly impactful in the US, especially if those discussing a news

event have looked at stories from different news sources of various political leanings.