Japanese lesbian couple do wedding world tour for same-sex equality
While there are other ways to protest, a Japanese lesbian couple is going on a wedding world tour to call for equality in Japan.
In their crowdfund page, university students Misato Kawasaki, 21, and Mayu Otaki, 22, will go on a six-month wedding tour in March in protest against not being allowed to wed in Japan.
Japanese lesbian couple to hit 26 countries
Original news reports had indicated that the couple were going to get married in 26 countries and regions where it’s legal for same-sex couples to get married.
However, the two clarified to PinkNews that they are actually going to visit these countries and take wedding photos and/or participate in wedding shoots in each destination.
“This project is not about our wedding but revealing a social issue by taking a wedding photos and share them on a Instagram,” the couple said.
These pictures will be then published on their blog and social media channels to convince the Japanese public that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry in Japan.
“I want to show through our wedding photos that being LGBT is normal so that those who are troubled by their sexual status can harbour hope,” Kawasaki told The Asahi Shimbun.
Japanese lesbian couple are normal people, too
Kawasaki and Otaki both study at the Department of International Cultural Studies of the Utsunomiya University’s Faculty of International Studies.
They were first started dating in late 2017 and several months later, Kawasaki proposed to Otaki.
The two– who plan to travel through Europe, Africa, North America, and South America– estimate the transport and accommodation costs to reach 4.14 million yen, and are raising a million yen to help subsidize their tour.
while both became aware of their sexualities during high school, Kawasaki avoided getting involved with other girls at school because she thought she was “abnormal,” and only came out as a lesbian at the university.
Meanwhile, Otaki realized that she was pansexual and came out after she started dating Kawasaki.
Otaki said: “We are involved in activities while showing our names and faces so that people will get interested in us. We have no reason to conceal (our personal information).”
Campaign to push for marriage equality in Japan
The two said they will also interview other Japanese same-sex partners, as well as government officials in these countries that allow same-sex marriages.
After their return, they will then put these in a project that will push for the case of marriage equality in Japan.
Japan doesn’t allow same-sex marriage on a national-level even though some areas of the country recognize their unions, which allows them some benefits of marriage.
The point of their campaign, which they call the “26-time marriage plan,” is to make life easier for queer people and couples who are struggling with their identities.
Afterward, they plan to set up their own company that offer wedding services to LGBTQ couples.