TOKYO (AP) \u2014 A senior aide to Japan\u2019s prime minister is being dismissed after making discriminatory remarks about LGBTQ people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters Saturday that Masayoshi Arai, a secretary at his office, was being dismissed after Arai recently told Japanese media he did not like seeing LGBTQ people. Arai had retracted his comments and apologized on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kishida said the remarks run counter to the administration\u2019s position on promoting diversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTaking strong action is inevitable,\u201d Kishida said without providing further details, meaning Arai may leave voluntarily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arai\u2019s remarks prompted an outburst of protest and were the latest in a string of gaffes by Japanese officials that have landed them in trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saving face is important in conformist Japan, where prejudice against LGBTQ people, racial groups, women and other nationalities persist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Japan is the only Group of Seven country that does not recognize same-sex marriage, but the movement toward recognition has been growing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kishida\u2019s administration has been hit by several scandals recently, and its popularity is shaky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Various Japanese officials have resigned over the years over comments they made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A justice minister stepped down last year after joking about capital punishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2021, Yoshiro Mori resigned as head of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee after saying women talked too much. Mori had been gaffe-prone when he earlier served as prime minister, about 20 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A minister in charge of cybersecurity who acknowledged he had hardly ever used a computer resigned in 2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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