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June 14, 2006

Hajimemashite!

Stonewall Fellow Daniel Jasnow with Kanako Otsuji

Yesterday, Stonewall welcomed Kanako Otsuji as she met with LGBT organizations on a visit to Washington. Otsuji is a member of the Osaka Prefecture Assembly and the only openly-gay elected official in Japan (Japan is also served by a transgender individual).

Otsuji is a leader on women's issues in Osaka - the second largest city in Japan. At our meeting yesterday, Otsuji met with representatives from the National Center for Transgender Equality, the National Association of LGBT Community Centers, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, Freedom to Marry and the Stonewall Democrats. Otsuji was looking for models of LGBT organizing that can be reapplied in Japan, where the concept of a gay identity among the general population is not yet widely held.

Posted by TrailMix at June 14, 2006 02:30 PM