Dec 12, 2019 (Japan Times) - A recent online survey has found that 1 in 10 in Japan identify as LGBT or another sexual minority.
The Japan LGBT Research Institute Inc., a Tokyo-based think tank specializing in issues related to sexual minorities, conducted the poll in April and May on 428,000 people aged 20 to 69. It received 348,000 valid responses, and about 10 percent identified as LGBT or another sexual minority.
By sexual orientation, 2.8 percent described themselves as bisexual while 1.4 percent said they were questioning their sexuality. The proportion that described themselves as asexual and gay was 0.9 percent in both cases.
By gender identity, 2.5 percent identified as nonbinary (not strictly identifying as male or female) followed by transgender at 1.8 percent, while 1.2 percent said they were questioning their gender identity.
The survey defined sexual minorities as those who did not identify themselves as heterosexual cisgender. Cisgender refers to those for whom gender identity corresponds to the sex they were assigned at birth.
Considering the figure of 10 percent, the Japan LGBT Research Institute said in November, “our society needs to face (the reality) in a sincere manner.â€
A different survey conducted by the same think tank in the same period on 2,578 people indicates that their presence is not necessarily well recognized.
In that survey, 83.9 percent responded that they were not aware of any LGBT people around them.
