Japanese gay woman battles for upper house seat

Japanese gay woman battles for upper house seat
By Elaine Lies Reuters - July 29, 2007

TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese woman was battling to become Japan's first openly gay parliamentarian on Monday, with voting too close to call in her race for an upper house seat.

Kanako Otsuji, backed by the main opposition Democratic Party, said she hoped her campaign would raise awareness of gay rights in a society where many homosexuals remain in the closet.

"I feel we were finally able to express our feelings and turn them into votes," the 32-year-old told Japanese television.

"I really didn't hear any sort of critical voices when I was campaigning. I was welcomed warmly at my campaign stops."

Supporters waited anxiously for results late into the night at Otsuji's campaign office, located in Shinjuku Ni-chome, an area with several hundred gay bars in Tokyo's west.

Otsuji, who served as a local legislator in the western city of Osaka for four years until April, has said her decision to become a politician was inspired by the pain and isolation of the five years it took her to accept that she was a lesbian.

She revealed her sexual orientation in 2005, when already a legislator in Osaka.

In her autobiography, "Coming Out: A Journey to Find my True Self," she said: "I thought I could give courage to the most people by coming out."

If elected, she has vowed to promote a more diverse society and seek laws to prohibit discrimination, including against sexual minorities. In Osaka, she helped change laws to make it easier for same-sex couples to rent public housing.

Japanese media have increased coverage of sexual minority issues, but social acceptance remains limited and gays are still often shown as comic relief.