Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday rebuked one of his secretaries, who said he wouldn't want to live next to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender couples and warned that people would flee Japan if same-sex marriage was permitted.
In remarks reported by local media on Friday, Masayoshi Arai, a government bureaucrat who has worked for Kishida since October, added he did not even want to look at same-sex couples.
"His comments are outrageous and completely incompatible with the administration's policies," Kishida said in remarks aired by public broadcaster NHK. Kisihida said he may dismiss Arai, who later apologized for "misleading" comments made after Kishida had said in parliament that same-sex marriage needed careful consideration because of its potential impact on the family structure.
Arai's comments are an embarrassment for Kishida as he prepares to host other leaders from Group of Seven nations in May. Unlike Japan, which has been ruled by the conservative Liberal Democratic Party for most of the past seven decades, the rest of the G7 allow marriage or civil unions for same-sex couples.
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