Japan has learned how to deflect Western pressure to 'share values'

Demands for affirmation of LGBT rights ahead of G-7 summit are misplaced

Stephen Givens

March 19, 2023 05:00 JST

20230319 Kishida chairs G7 - opinion main

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks about the Group of Seven summit to be held in Hiroshima and other issues at a Feb. 24 news conference. © Reuters

Stephen Givens is a corporate lawyer and an adjunct professor at Keio University Law School in Tokyo.

In a live video shared with her 8.6 million Instagram followers during a congressional visit to Japan last month, U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, widely known as AOC, joined a chorus of foreigners who have been urging Japan to pass LGBT anti-discrimination legislation ahead of the Group of Seven summit to be held in Hiroshima in May.