A9. Young LGBT People and Students and Sexual Diversity in Education in Japan

Voices and Stories

The Nail That Sticks Out Gets Hammered Down-LGBT Bullying and Exclusion in Japanese Schools Stories of LGBT students in Japanese schools told in cartoons (manga). Human Rights watch Japan, 2016.

Japan’s Missed Opportunity to Support LGBT Children: At Least 10 More Years of Official Silence on LGBT Lives in Schools The Japanese government has missed an opportunity to introduce information about sexual and gender minorities to classrooms during a once-in-a-decade review of its national educational curriculum. Instead, the government said in March that including information about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) lives is “difficult” because “the public and guardians have not accepted” this topic yet. Human Rights Watch Japan, 27 Apr 2017

Bullying of LGBT students at ‘epidemic’ levels in Japan: Human Rights Watch (HRW) Lack of effective government policies to include action on homophobia in campaigns on bullying at school, as well as inadequate teacher training and strong gender segregation, are blamed for the problem. Japan Times, May 6, 2016. Read the full HRW report, The Nail That Sticks Out Gets Hammered Down

Survey finds 90% of Japanese parents would be accepting if their kids came out as LGBT, though some would do so reluctantly, according to an online survey. Japan Times, 29 Aug, 2016

The word “LGBT” appears on school textbooks for the first time in Japan New textbooks for high school students are revised and the word “LGBT” appears in school textbooks for the first time in Japan. The new textbooks for next year will be open to the public and be selected by the end of August. Out Japan, 20 Mar 2016.

LGBT groups, educators call for diversity in school uniforms LGBT groups in along with educators in Fukuoka have highlighted the need to allow sexual minority students in middle schools and high schools to freely choose uniforms they feel most comfortable wearing. Japan Times, 15 Oct, 2017.

New education minister vows to promote LGBT rights, use Olympics to push social issues A human rights advocate, former teacher and professional wrestler, and now the newly appointed head of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, said Wednesday he plans to promote support for sexual-minority students at schools. Japan Times, Oct 15, 2015

LGBT Students In Japan: Education Ministry Asks Schools To Let Transgender Children Use Preferred Bathrooms: Report An article on various recent government moves to encourage support for LGBT students in schools in Japan. International Business Times, 30 April 2015.

Ministry to require schools to support LGBT students The education ministry will instruct teachers and schools to take special measures to prevent bullying and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students. Asahi Shimbun, 3 Mar 2015.

ReBit A NPO which is supporting Young LGBT people. The website has sections on LGBT education and job hunting. More than 300 young people (Not only LGBT people) are participating in this organization.

LGBT Youth Japan A group of mainly students that organises an LGBT study tour to New York and a conference for LGBT student activists/leaders

Youth LGBT project launched in Japan for World Suicide Prevention Day: Celebrities record messages of hope similar to the It Gets Better campaign Gay Star News, 10 Sep 2012.

See also Japan Moves To Prevent LGBT Youth Suicides An article about a campaign in Japan to prevent suicides because of pressure on lgbt young people. Wall Street Journal, 7 Sep, 2012. And Japan to take official steps in support of LGBT youths, JDP, 7 Sep, 2012.

LGBT bullying rife [very common] in schools: survey About 70 percent of sexual minorities have experienced bullying in school and 30 percent have thought about committing suicide, according to a survey of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people according to a survey by the group, Respect Life White Ribbon Campaign. Japan Times, 8 May 2014. See also Unsurprisingly, Bullying of LGBT+ Students is Rife in Japan, Too, ROYGBIV, and Stop the bullying of LGBT students, Japan Times,24 May, 2014. See the full report: ＬＧＢＴの学校生活に関する実態査(2013)結果報告書

Majority of LGBT Students in Japan Bullied in School This short article reports on the White Ribbon survey and also briefly discusses bullying of LGBT children in other countries. Human Rights campaign, 8 May 2104.

JASE (The Japanese Association for Sex Education) 現代性教育研究ジャーナル Aug.2013.

LGBT Students In Japan: Education Ministry Asks Schools To Let Transgender Children Use Preferred Bathrooms: Report Japan's education ministry reportedly sent out a statement Thursday encouraging schools to increase their of support transgender students. International Business Times, 30 Apr 2015.

Schools in Japan to let transgender students use whichever locker room they prefer The education ministry issued a landmark notice on Thursday, urging local education boards to ensure that schools do more to cater to children who believe they were born the wrong gender. Japan Times, 30 Apr 2015.

LGBT support grows among Japan schools This article looks at homophobia in Japanese schools but also at increasing numbers of activities to promote teachers' and students' awareness and understanding of sexual diversity, including a workshop by the NPO ReBit. Japan Times, 15 June 2016.

Interview: The Bullying of LGBT Kids in Japan’s Schools School bullying is notorious in Japan and has been for decades. For LGBT kids in particular, the harassment, threats, and even violence in schools can be unbearable. School policies don’t adequately protect these students. At best, teachers are confused about how to handle LGBT bullying; at worst, they take part in it. Although same-sex marriage is being debated in Japan, the shortage of real LGBT role models is so stark that kids turn to gay manga characters for inspiration and very basic information about gender and sexuality. Researcher Kyle Knight speaks about Human Rights Watch’s new report, “The Nail That Sticks Out Gets Hammered Down,” and his idea to create non-fiction manga characters that give a glimpse into the real lives of Japan’s LGBT youth. Human Rights Watch, 6 May 2016. See the manga here: The Nail That Sticks Out Gets Hammered Down-LGBT Bullying and Exclusion in Japanese Schools

The Secret to Battling Homophobia in Japan's Schools: Manga by Kyle Knight LGBT portrayals in Japan are so rare that comics and anime have become lifelines for queer youth there, writes Kyle Knight of Human Rights Watch, who helped create a new manga series that celebrates sexual and gender diversity. The Advocate, 29 June 2016. See the manga here: The Nail That Sticks Out Gets Hammered Down-LGBT Bullying and Exclusion in Japanese Schools

Japan: Bullied LGBT Students Unprotected Policies, National Curriculum Ignore Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity The Japanese government has failed to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students from school bullying, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Japan has a bullying prevention policy, which is up for review in 2016 amid a growing national debate on equal rights for LGBT people. Human Rights Watch, 5 May 2016. Read the full report here: ‘The Nail That Sticks Out Gets Hammered Down’: LGBT Bullying and Exclusion in Japanese Schools

Japan’s Trans-Friendly Comic Book Revolution From Wandering Son to boys’ love, how manga is helping straight-laced Japan come to terms with LGBT rights. Foreign Policy, 30 Sep 2015.

We are here, living together in the same space ~Calling for Revisions to Textbooks that Harm LGBT Youth ~ / クラスに必ず1人いる子のこと、知ってますか？〜セクシュアル・マイノリティの子どもたちを傷つける教科書の訂正を求めます〜 A campaign in 2016/17 to have more accurate information about LGBT people and issues in school textbooks in Japan. The Ministry of Education rejected this call - see the article below.

ＬＧＢＴ、取り上げた教員１割 「必要」は７割 Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 26. 2013

子どもと親と教員のためのLGBT入門ガイド 日英LGBTユースエクスチェンジプロジェクト実行委員会