‘Global queering’ and the formation of the ‘global gay’ have become a topic of interest surrounding the formation of queer identities and sexualities in Asia as globalisation has paved the way for new cultural flows between queer communities around the globe (Altman 1996 Jackson 2009). In addition to their fight for human rights within a national context, the queer community is facing an additional internal struggle regarding their direction, approach, and even terminology. 2008 Taniguchi 2006 Vincent, Kazama and Kawaguchi 1997). The current consensus seems to be that queer culture is tolerated, so long as it stays segregated and does not disturb the majority (Equaldex n.d.
However, discrimination exists at a systematic and institutional level, as Japan does not have an anti-discrimination law, same-sex partnerships are only recognised to a limited extent in certain cities, and workplace discrimination, bullying, and suicide rates continue to be a problem for the queer population. The owner then exclaimed: ‘Oh! Is this about homos ?’ From a cross-cultural perspective, Japan is often portrayed as a comparatively tolerant country due to the scarcity of LGBT-related hate crime and active persecution (Vincent, Kazama and Kawaguchi 1997, 170). I explained that I was referring to people who love people of the same-sex or whose gender identity does not match their biological identity. The owner somewhat understood the latter, but asked me to be more specific. I tried again, asking about sekushuaru mainoriti, then seiteki mainoriti, then the fully native term, seiteki sh ō sūsha. In the summer of 2016, I went inside a small café to talk to the owners about a local LGBT campaign: ‘Excuse me, do you know what LGBT means?’ They didn’t. This is an excerpt from Sexuality and Translation in World Politics.