The Journey to LGBTQ Rights in Japan and the US: Trans-Pacific Cooperation and Community

*Hybrid Event

The end of 2023 witnessed an unprecedented debate in Japan over LGBTQ rights in the National Diet. What is the current state of the fight for ensuring greater protection of LGBTQ rights in Japan, and what was behind this push for legislation? The United States has seen significant successes in LGBTQ rights over the past decades but continues to confront challenges. How could the US’s experiences help inform the LGBTQ struggle in Japan? Are there lessons that the LGBTQ communities in both countries could learn from each other?

On February 26, the Japan Society of Northern California will be hosting experts, leaders, and activists from both countries to address these questions and more. Come hear fascinating perspectives from Akira Nishiyama, Deputy Executive Director of the Japan Alliance for LGBT Legislation, Prof Aaron Belkin of San Francisco State University, and Larry Bates, a lawyer/executive who worked in Japan for most of his career.

We warmly welcome anyone with an interest in LGBTQ rights, as well as broader social change in Japan and the US. There will be time to engage in a discussion with the speakers during the program and in the following networking session.

*** Please write your full name when registering, as you will need to show your ID to enter Salesforce Tower ***

Online Registration!

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Our Amazing Speakers:

Aaron Belkin | Political Science Department Chair (interim), San Francisco State University

Aaron Belkin is a scholar, author, and social justice advocate who has written and edited more than twenty five scholarly articles, chapters and books. From 1999 until 2022, Belkin served as founding director of the Palm Center, where he designed and implemented much of the public education campaign that eroded popular support for military anti-gay and anti-transgender discrimination. When “don’t ask, don’t tell” was repealed, the president of the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund observed that, “this day never would have arrived (or it would have been a much longer wait) without the persistent, grinding work of the Michael Palm Center.” Harvard Law Professor Janet Halley said of Belkin that, “Probably no single person deserves more credit for the repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’” Belkin serves as professor and interim Chair of political science at San Francisco State University. Prior to his arrival at State, he was an associate professor of political science at University of California, Santa Barbara. He earned his B.A. in international relations at Brown University in 1988 and his Ph.D in political science at the University of California, Berkeley in 1998.

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Akira Nishiyama (she/her) | Deputy Secretary General, Japan Alliance for LGBT Legislation (J-ALL)

Akira is a human rights defender of LGBTQ+ people. She has been working for several NPOs to support the LGBTQ+ community in Japan and is currently in charge of global advocacy and overall administration at J-ALL, an organization with over 100 LGBTQ+ CSOs, whose mission is to urge Japanese government to legislate laws to remove social barriers based on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI).

Her passion for the LGBTQ+ community has led to the success of “Pride 7“, a new civic engagement group/platform for The Group of Seven (G7), and the passage of a new law in June 2023, which promotes people’s understanding on diversity of SOGI.

She was an exchange student at University of California Irvine between 2009-2010 and is looking forward to sharing her experiences and exchanging opinions with participants.

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Moderator: Amy Sueyoshi | Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, San Francisco State University

Amy Sueyoshi is Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at San Francisco State University. They previously served as dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at the same institution, the first and longest standing college of its kind. They are a historian by training with an undergraduate degree from Barnard College and a Ph.D. from University of California at Los Angeles. Their research area lies at the intersection of Asian American Studies and Sexuality Studies. She has authored two monographs Queer Compulsions: Race, Nation, and Sexuality in the Affairs of Yone Noguchi and Discriminating Sex: White Leisure and the Making of the American “Oriental.” Their essay “Breathing Fire: Remembering Asian Pacific American Activism in Queer History” was a part of the award-winning National Park Service LGBT Theme Study published in 2017. Amy is also a founding co-curator of the GLBT History Museum, seeded the intergenerational Dragon Fruit Oral History Project at API Equality Northern California, and is the co-founder of the biennial Queer History Conference hosted by the Committee on LGBT History. They are the recipient of numerous awards including the Clio Award for their contribution to queer history, San Francisco Pride Community Grand Marshal, and the Phoenix Award for their service to the Asian and Pacific Islander queer women and transgender community.

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Larry W. Bates | Former Corporate Director, Executive Officer, General Counsel and Business Advocate

Larry has been engaged in cross-border business investment and rule of law issues in China and Japan throughout his career, first with international law firms based in New York, Beijing, and Tokyo—and then for 22 years at General Electric Company, as General Counsel in multiple Asia-based business divisions. While in Tokyo, he also served in 2013 as President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ). Following his retirement from GE in 2013, Larry took on senior level responsibilities with two Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed companies—with LIXIL Corporation, where he was appointed its first Chief Legal Officer in 2014, and then with Panasonic Corporation, where he was named its first General Counsel, and first non-Japanese member of the Board of Directors, in 2018.

During his long career in Japan, Larry served as an executive role model for the LGBTQ+ community in Japan, speaking at numerous external and internal company events on the importance of LGBTQ+ perspectives in diversity and inclusion programs. In particular, he has been an advocate for marriage equality, having worked closely with organizations such as ACCJ, LGBT Lawyers and Allies Network, and Equal Marriage Alliance Japan.

Larry is a 1980 graduate of Yale University in, with majors in Chinese studies and economics, and earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1986. Larry retired from Panasonic in 2022, and relocated to Stonington, CT, with his husband Paul Ma and their two young children. 

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Opening Video From: Congressman Mark Takano | Congressman for the 39th District of California 

Born and raised in Riverside, Mark’s commitment to public service began at an early age. His family roots in Riverside go back to his grandparents who, along with his parents, were removed from their respective homes and sent to Japanese American Internment camps during World War II. After the war, these two families settled in Riverside County to rebuild their lives.

Mark attended Harvard College and received his bachelor’s degree in Government in 1983. In 1990, Mark was elected to the Riverside Community College District’s Board of Trustees. He was elected Board President in 1991 and helped the Board and the District gain stability and direction amid serious fiscal challenges.

In 2012, Mark became the first openly gay person of color to be elected to Congress. Mark Takano represents the people of Riverside, Moreno Valley, Jurupa Valley and Perris in the United States House of Representatives. He serves as the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and as a senior member of the Education and Workforce Committee.

As former Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Mark authored the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, or the Honoring our PACT Act, comprehensive toxic exposure legislation that addresses the full scope of issues affecting toxic-exposed veterans’ access to VA care and benefits. The Honoring our PACT Act expanded VA healthcare eligibility for over 3.5 million veterans exposed to burn pits, established a presumption of service connection for over 23 respiratory illnesses and cancers, and also eliminated the requirement that veterans prove exposure to toxic substances – a requirement that has often prevented many from accessing the care and benefits they have earned and deserve. Mark lives in Riverside, California and Washington, DC.

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Opening Video From: Senator Scott Wiener | Senator for the 11th District of California

Senator Scott Wiener represents San Francisco and northern San Mateo County in the California State Senate. Elected in 2016, Senator Wiener focuses extensively on housing, transportation, civil rights, criminal justice reform, clean energy, and alleviating poverty. He chairs the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee and is Co-Chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus. He is a past Chair of the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus. Before his election to the Senate, Senator Wiener served as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, representing the district previously represented by Harvey Milk. He also chaired the San Francisco County Transportation Authority. Before taking public office, Senator Wiener practiced law for fifteen years, including nearly a decade as a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. He also served in a number of community leadership roles, including co-chair of the San Francisco LGBT Community Center and on the national Board of Directors of the Human Rights Campaign. Senator Wiener has lived in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood since 1997. He received degrees from Duke University and Harvard Law School and was a Fulbright Scholar in Santiago, Chile.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg-IL2gjRxo[/embedyt]–

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