No LGBTQ+ measures at over half of workplaces in Japan: survey
No specific measures have been taken for sexual and gender minorities at half of their workplaces in Japan, even after the June 2023 enforcement of a law to promote public understanding, a survey has shown.
According to the survey covering some 2,000 LGBTQ+ people over three years to 2024, 54.9% of respondents said in the final year that their workplaces did not have any specific measures for sexual and gender minorities.
Still, the figure slightly improved from 57.2% in 2022 and 60.4% in 2023, according to the survey, conducted by Nijiiro Diversity, a nonprofit organization working for sexual and gender minorities.
The share of respondents who came out at work changed little for transgender people, standing at 56.4% in 2022, 53.3% in 2023 and 54.3% in 2024.
For other sexual and gender minorities, the share stood at 39.9% in 2024, down from 42.8% in 2022 and 45.8% in 2023.
The percentage of transgender people who saw or heard someone at school or work talking negatively about living as a person who changed their assigned sex rose over the period, from 37.4% in 2022 to 43.4% in 2023 to 47.4% in 2024.
Maki Muraki, director of Nijiiro Diversity, said that not many companies have taken measures for sexual and gender minorities in Japan because the law's binding power is weak.
"It's necessary to secure places where such individuals can feel secure as well as a consultation system, given that discrimination against those people is on the rise," Muraki said.
