News

GayJapanNews Approved ILGA Membership - 18 October 2008

(Tokyo, Japan) GayJapanNews, Japan’s biggest LGBT news website was approved as a member of the International Lesbian and Gay Association on 21 September, 2007. GJN became the 4th LGBT organization from Japan following Japan Association for the Lesbian and Gay Movement, Gay Front Kansai and Hokkaido Sexual Minority Association Sapporo Meeting.

GayJapanNews, established in February 2005, has been providing national and international LGBT-related news both in English and Japanese, organizing charity events such as Gay Ski Weekend,and working on the project for the International Day Against Homophobia alongside openly-lesbian former Osaka Assembly Member, Kanako Otsuji, and pride organizers, Tokyo Pride and Sapporo Rainbow March.

ILGA was established in 1978 and has over 560 members from some 90 countries. The organization has been working as a global network to fight for equality and elimination of discrimination based on sexual orientation in every continent.

At an international conference early this year, an editor of GayJapanNews was told that voices from Japan’s LGBT community did not reach global LGBT community. As a result, GJN decided to bring the voices to the international forum by joining ILGA.

ILGA’s Co-Secretary General, Rosanna Flamer-Caldera from Sri Lanka told GayJapanNews in an email interview that she was happy to welcome GayJapanNews as a new member of ILGA.

“We would like GayJapanNews to cover issues pertaining to ILGA’s work in the different regions”, Flamer-Caldera said.

As an ILGA member, GayJapanNews will organize charity events, submit reports to the ILGA headquarters on situations of LGBT human rights in the country, provide news to both national and international LGBT community and media and attend ILGA conferences.

“Think outside of Japan and act globally. Be aware of what is going on in the rest of your region of Asia”, Flamer-Caldera told GayJapanNews as a message to Japan’s LGBT community.

ILGA -Asia Conference is to be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand on 24-27 January next year. ILGA Asia representatives are calling for organizations with/without ILGA membership in the region to participate in the Conference. (Editors Tom Paine, Azusa Yamashita)