ABSTRACT
A certain proportion of Japanese gays and lesbians may also share some conservative and potentially nationalistic views of the Japanese Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer community. In retrospect, Japan’s AIDS panic failed to make gay men visible or galvanize the gay rights movement and spark same-sex marriage, as seen in the US. The gay boom of the 1990s witnessed diverse media, including magazines, novels, television series, and feature films, reporting on and showing male homosexuality on a scale that was unparalleled and remains unmatched to the present day. In 1990, the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education refused to allow the Association for the Lesbian and Gay Movement to use the Fuchu Youth House facility on the grounds that it would have a negative impact on young people. Many lesbian feminist scholars and activists have emphasized the need to take into account Japan’s distinct form of familial identity when discussing the possibility of same-sex marriage.
