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The thinking that homosexuality is some sort of illness was rejected years ago, so the clear inclusion of such a passage is, to me, an expression of prejudice and animosity.

26 Comments

Takeharu Kato, an openly gay lawyer who has led plaintiff groups in lawsuits on the issue of same-sex marriages. He was referring to a pamphlet that recently made the rounds of lawmakers belonging to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, describing sexual minorities as suffering from an “acquired psychological disorder” that is just as addictive as gambling.

© Asahi Shimbun

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26 Comments
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People in the LDP are so distanced from reality they tend to do this things half by prejudice and half by deep ignorance.

The real problem is why the can keep being the ruling party with these obvious flaws. In other countries this would be a huge scandal.

14 ( +23 / -9 )

There are much bigger problems to solve other than who sleeps with who in this country.

9 ( +13 / -4 )

This does not especially surprise me, but I am pleased it has been brought to my attention.

While this is prime evidence of virulent and nasty homophobia, I would not assume that such people's prejudice ends there. We should all stand up against it because most of us are in a minority on some axis or another.

8 ( +13 / -5 )

Totally gay gokai now knows for sure that the LDP is living in the 18th century. I guess a lot of people here knew that already, but now I know too.

7 ( +16 / -9 )

I guess when you have a single party in rule for nearly 70 years running this is the result. Backwards and out of touch. Where arrogance and ignorance reigns supreme.

7 ( +10 / -3 )

LDP constantly touts “there hasn’t been enough discussion with the public to accept gay marriage “ and what not while barely secretly having material like this floating their offices. If they were honest and said cause were homophobic, racist, and enjoy gaining off public apathy towards our clearly nonsense policies like getting free travel and 5 star hotels while also getting to keep our travel expense budget every month, I’d be like yeah cool.

but they openly spit in Japanese peoples faces with an “what will you do about it…” attitude

6 ( +11 / -5 )

@jonathan prin

Totally wrong to tag illness or disorder being gay, but still not the majority whose opinion shall lead in a democracy

If the majority of the people recognize sexual preference is just a bad excuse for segregating people and denying them rights that is what democracy decides. People can support gay rights because it is the correct thing to do without being gay themselves.

4 ( +8 / -4 )

Wobot that has all the hallmarks of the 80s reaction to AIDS. Your post is offensive and borderline hate crime. I can’t believe today, you have managed to lessen my view of peoples intelligence in one sentence.

3 ( +14 / -11 )

Everyone gets to have an opinion, right?

3 ( +12 / -9 )

@paul first of all there’s over 450 ‘creatures’ that engage regularly in homosexual behavior, some of them exclusively (for instance a good 10% of domestic sheep males refuse to engage in sex with females but do so with other males). That been said, human behavior is not ‘natural’ in most areas of life, otherwise we would be living in caves and eating raw food and probably wouldn’t use fax, which is to me the most unnatural behavior Japanese still engage in. So I don’t see what ‘normal’ means in relation to the human habits, when Japanese can’t even agree on what’s the ‘normal’ side to stand on an escalator between Tokyo and Osaka.

2 ( +9 / -7 )

I'd say members of the LDP are more accurate examples as people suffering from 'acquired psychological disorder'.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

The only reason homosexuality was removed from the psychological disorder list is that political correctness arrived on the scene; the science did not change in the slightest.

Tell that to Tim Cook who runs Apple Computers. The only psychological disorder regarding homosexuality is the sexual repression buried in the homophobic crowd.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Everyone gets to have an opinion, right?

Its becoming tricky these days

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Everyone gets to have an opinion, right?

Facts are not that upon which can be opined. They just are, even if - in your opinion - you don't like them.

The stupid idea that there can be an opinion on fact is what led to the also stupid idea that there are 'alternative facts'. Nope, just extremism that wants to ignore truth.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Paul you are so wrong, it’s not a fact at all. Lions, elephants, penguins many creatures. Humans are not the only creatures on the planet. Research mate. It’s a part of life. God made all of us, straight or gay, even in between in his own image, in his own image! So drop that argument as god by the bibles definition is a rainbow.

0 ( +6 / -6 )

@ Antiquesaving

I agree with you 100%!!!!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

LDP should really be kicked out. On the contrary to a post above, LDP does not live in the 18th century. In fact, the 18th century Japan was more tolerant to homosexuality because the Western Christian thinking was not able to penetrate, yet, the Japanese thoughts. LDP's puritan way of thinking is a reflection of how they are more inclined into the likes of Putin and Trump.

-1 ( +8 / -9 )

MR KIPLING 

Do you really think I was serious? I was using their own words against them. Maybe in the future a little bit of thought.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

LDP is homophobic, sexist and racist!

come out of the closet. The world has changed!

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

Don't know the Japanese words he said, but one thing is "illness" and another is" acquired psychological disorder". These are two different things. Though it has long being discarded as an illness, it is not universally set that is is not some sort of a disorder. Specially since scientific studies regarding its physiology were halted when it became politically accepted. Still some 20 years ago there hard science studies showing mother hormones in some cases of placenta irregularities causing the fetus not to be completely sealed off from the mothers internal fluids, reaching the fetus and affecting the forming neuroreceptors.

Also before political becoming politically correct, psychologically speaking it was well understood that as behavioral anomaly not all homosexual people "became" or "were born" homosexual the same way. Several patterns were known, and most probably still occur, just nobody is taking data anymore.

What this all means is that although politically is has been frowned upon to question the normality of "OKness" of homosexuality, that alone does not make it right, when previous historic data shows there are several factors involved (physiologically the above mentioned mother's chemicals, psychologically and or developmentally single parentness, sexual abuse at any stage, loneliness, curiosity, psychological or emotional neglect, opportunity, adaptation, compensation, and even perversion, hatred and decadence), which in turn it is clearly never going to be flatly accepted by conservative people. Not that homosexual people as people don't deserve as full of a life as they can. But their standing in people's minds who know all I mentioned above, will hardly ever be as just a normal behavior. It just cannot be.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

I won't make friends on either side.

I have never doubted that one was born heterosexual or homosexual and nothing will change that fact.

I was sure of this as a child as my best friend always showed the sings he was gay and sure enough once he reached puberty it became obvious just as it became obvious I wasn't, he liked boys I liked girls.

It was that simple for me nothing was going to change him or me.

Now that doesn't go over well with a certain crowd.

The following won't go over well with a different crowd.

As certain as I am about being born homosexual or born heterosexual, I am not convinced the rest are anything more than fetishes or life style choices.

If the homosexual community is adamant that things like conversion therapy are wrong and don't work and that one is born that gay ( this I agree with) then the idea that one can flip flops back and forth between being heterosexual and homosexual like those claiming to be bisexual total rejects the notion we are born heterosexual or homosexual and cannot change.

The same applies to the transexual and the rest of the supposed 70+ some odd genders.

Either one is heterosexual or homosexual the "gender is fluid" stuff is just a way to make sexual fetishes seem like they are part of the everyday society no different than a heterosexual couple deciding to bring their SM home life out into the public walking around in leather with whips and ball gags!

I know neither side is going to like what I just wrote.

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

an expression of prejudice and animosity.

something Japan has ALOT of

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

The only reason homosexuality was removed from the psychological disorder list is that political correctness arrived on the scene; the science did not change in the slightest.

-5 ( +3 / -8 )

It is not because you are gay that same-sex marriages should be created for this minority. Marriage was created for the intent of making life. If not then it is out of love and there is not limit to love.

Totally wrong to tag illness or disorder being gay, but still not the majority whose opinion shall lead in a democracy. Respect to everyone and everyone to respect the whole.

-7 ( +5 / -12 )

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