#alternate Skip to content Your browser does not support JavaScript, or it is disabled．Please check the site policy for more information. The Asahi Shimbun | Asia & Japan Watch * ____________________ Search * Twitter * Facebook Language * 日本語 * English * 繁体字 * 簡体字 * TOP * Japan News + Social Affairs + 3/11 Disaster + People + Sci & Tech * Politics * Business * Sports * Culture + Style + Movies + Manga & Anime * Travel * Asia + China + Korean Peninsula + Around Asia * Opinion + Editorial + Vox Populi + Views * Special The Asahi Shimbun > Politics > article * Politics Lawmaker’s ‘no’ to gay marriage as sexuality is a ‘matter of taste’ By YUKI NIKAIDO/ Staff Writer August 2, 2018 at 15:30 JST * Share 0 * Tweet list * Print Photo/Illutration Tomu Tanigawa (Asahi Shimbun file photo) A ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker on Aug. 1 defended his view expressed on an Internet TV show that gay marriage should not be legalized because sexual orientation is a matter of “taste.” Tomu Tanigawa made the remarks while appearing as a panelist on a debate show broadcast July 29 on Abema TV. In an Aug. 1 written response to an interview request made by The Asahi Shimbun on July 31, Tanigawa said, “What I meant was that it is difficult to accept same-sex marriage under Article 24 of the Constitution that states ‘marriage shall be based only on the mutual consent of both sexes.’” Tanigawa, 42, a Buddhist priest who has been voted into office twice by the Kinki electorate under the proportional representation system, also wrote, “I did not intend to discriminate against LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people, nor do I deny diversity.” In the debate show, panelist Hirotada Ototake, a bestselling author, raised questions over how the government is stubbornly refusing to allow married couples to legally retain different surnames and the legalization of same-sex marriage. Tanigawa responded that he “does not deny sexual diversity,” but also believes “there is no need to legalize same-sex marriage” because choosing whether to love someone of the same sex or opposite sex is a “matter of taste.” He then elaborated on the reason he believes only heterosexual marriage should be legally allowed. “A man and a woman get married, and have children. That is how a traditional family is formed,” said Tanigawa. “Humans have been doing so from antiquity to fend off nations’ decline and ruin.” Tanigawa’s comments are at odds with a booklet published by the LDP to be distributed within the party to raise awareness on sexual minority issues. The booklet warns readers that “there is widespread misunderstanding that (being a sexual minority) is a matter of individual will, taste or preference.” The contentious remarks came only days after Mio Sugita, another LPD lawmaker, drew criticism for her anti-gay remarks in a magazine article she wrote. Sugita said gay couples are “unproductive” because they cannot produce children and, therefore, do not contribute to prosperity of the nation. * Share 0 * Tweet list * Print Related News * U.S. government shutdown delays start of trade talks with Japan January 19, 2019 * Ministry admits to losing or discarding years of labor data January 18, 2019 * Budget proposal redone to clean up mess from dodgy labor data January 18, 2019 * 80 billion yen needed to cover unpaid benefits in stats scandal January 17, 2019 * Russia calls on Japan to recognize outcome of World War II January 17, 2019 * * What's New DJ SumiRock, at 83, still lights up the club scene in Kabukicho Indonesia cleric to be freed despite holding to radicalism Gunmen kill two Buddhist monks in Thailand's troubled south Light and Darkness brought by Carlos Ghosn Recommended * Photo The Paradise Papers Featured here are videos, photos and graphics on how journalists dug into documents leaked from Bermuda and elsewhere to uncover shady transactions through tax havens. * Photo Transform through SDGs Here are reports about efforts in Japan and abroad to achieve the U.N. sustainable development goals. * Photo Chasing Haruki Murakami Here are news reports and feature stories that keep you up to date on author Haruki Murakami. * Photo 360-DEGREE LIVES You can view videos of animals as interactive images that allow you to pan and zoom in to them. Videos * Photo Tokyo joins Kobe in mourning victims of 1995 Hanshin quake * Photo Epsilon-4 takes shooting star show experiment into outer space * Photo 360-DEGREE LIVES: Red lionfish may be ‘lady of the sea,’ but its sting packs venom Asahi Shimbun on Twitter Learning English * Asahi Weekly In-house News and Messages Link * The New York Times BACK TO TOP * About Us * Site Policy * Privacy * Copyright * Contact Us Copyright © The Asahi Shimbun Company. All rights reserved. No reproduction or republication without written permission.