Feature: You can have the rainbows without the rain when TRP comes to town

Tens of thousands of Japan's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexual (LGBT) community, as well as other minority sexual groups and a whole host of supporters descended on Yoyogi Park and its event space for two days of festivities culminating in the Tokyo Rainbow Pride (TRP) 2015 parade on Sunday.

The streets around Yoyogi Park, in Shibuya Ward, including those in Harajuku, particularly the main Meji Dori street were awash with smiles, colors, inventive outfits, more smiles and messages lovingly demanding tolerance and acceptance for a group in Japan that is beginning to escape the shackles of marginalization.

Tokyo Rainbow Pride, the organization, through its ongoing activities including its main annual Pride event"aims to promote a society where LGBT and other sexual minorities can feel comfortable with who they are and live optimistic and fulfilling lives, free from discrimination and prejudice,"according to the group's manifesto.

According to the group behind one of Tokyo's brightest and most well-attended public festivals,"approximately 5 percent of the population is LGBT in Japan. That's about 6 million people. Although the number is not small, the reality is that the awareness of LGBT in Japan is rather low."

"Through a variety of activities, TRP is trying to make the best effort to make the presence of LGBT widely accepted by the Japanese society, in which they can live as they are. We believe this will lead to a society full of diversity, tolerance and compassion,"the group said.

And the parade along the streets this year, the openness of the attendees and the cheers and support shown from the passersby along the way, seem to have taken on a new vigor this year, following Tokyo's Shibuya ward becoming the first district in Japan to recognize same-sex partnerships at the beginning of April, marking the first time a municipality in Japan has thrown its weight behind such a stature. "The LGBT community has long sought equal treatment around the world, and as Japan moves toward this, Shibuya's decision has helped push this issue to the forefront of Japanese news,"Equal Marriage Alliance (EMA) Japan's Director and Media and Communications officer, Malia Mullen, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview. "This has allowed the conversation about equal marriage to really expand here in Japan, opening doors to both personal and political movements on the issue. It is our highest hope that the rest of Japan will follow Shibuya's lead in opening the doors to diversity acceptance,"Mullen said, adding that it was natural for EMA and TRP to unite forces. "As one of the largest events of the year for Tokyo's LGBT community, TRP is a wonderful collection of all those who support and work for LGBT rights in Japan. Since EMA Japan is an organization dedicated to working with local and national political representatives to change the current Japanese constitutional interpretation to define marriage as more than just between a man and a woman, it is natural that we would participate in the 2015 festivities. Additionally, both TRP and EMA Japan have worked closely together in the last year, as we share volunteer support,"Mullen explained.

She went on to say that that from a constitutional point of view, EMA has been campaigning senior politicians to readdress Article 14, from an LGBT perspective. "There is no rational reason why these responsibilities and benefits are limited only to married couples of the opposite sex. Referring to 'Equality Under the Law,' which is stipulated in Article 14, Item 1 of the Japanese Constitution, it is important to acknowledge that same-sex couples have the same responsibilities and rights as couples of the opposite sex,"said Mullen.

LGBT advocates like Mullen, EMA, the TRP movement and a myriad of other NPOs, NGOs and private organizations believe that it is time, as is happening in other places in the world, that Japanese society should recognize that sexual minorities also have equal rights and that sexual minorities also deserve the freedom and protection to live varied and fulfilling lives. "Recognition of same-sex marriages has been advancing rapidly among the world's most prosperous and freest societies. We cannot afford to let Japan fall behind in this march towards greater freedom and equality,"said Mullen."Specifically, EMA Japan, through cooperation with the media and other like-minded organizations, aims to increase public awareness of the commercial, social and political realities of sexual minorities, in both Japan' s domestic as well as global contexts." "These advocacy activities will eventually lead towards the legalization of same-sex marriage in Japan, as same-sex marriage is still not legal here despite the many efforts of an increasing number of Japanese organizations advocating against discrimination towards sexual minorities. Japanese society cannot really be called 'equal and free' unless this legal discrimination is remedied,"she explained.

The mayor of Shibuya, Toshitake Kuwahara, said recently that accepting diversity reflected the district of Shibuya itself, which is a hodgepodge of shops, boutiques, restaurants, clubs and startups and probably best known globally for its"scramble crossing"pedestrian junction, where hundreds of thousands of people converge daily from multiple directions to cross the roads en masse, before the lights change and vehicles push back the throngs.

The first same-sex"marriage"certificates will be issued in July, and will only applicable to Shibuya residents and will be legally non-binding, but the move by Shibuya ward marks a giant step forward in attempts to better ensure Japan's LGBT community receive greater equality, recognition, public awareness and understanding, with the hope being that other wards across Japan will make similar decisions.

Those who discriminate against the couples -- meaning those who do not treat them in exactly the same manner as they would a straight married couple -- will be named on the ward's public website, according to the ordinance. "With the recent passing of the Shibuya Partnership Certificate law, the pressure is now certainly building on the government to at least bring the issue into discussion. Recently, six LGBT organizations from around Japan were chosen, with EMA Japan at the forefront, to form a federation to inform the national Diet about the needs of the LGBT community called the LGBT Legal Federation, the inaugural public hearing was held on April 5, 2015,"said Mullen. "The group is in the process of drafting a document that will be submitted to the National Diet for study. EMA Japan has also spearheaded efforts to garner support for LGBT marriage rights by approaching politicians both from the ruling and opposition parties. We are hopeful that the momentum will continue to be built and the government will soon act on this important issue," she said.

But for the time being and politics aside, at least until Monday, thousands of merrymakers were just happy to be united together under a clear blue sky and beautiful sunshine on a special day of celebration. "The weather is just amazing, you see, you can have rainbows without the rain, and there are so many of us (LGBT) here standing up for what we believe is right and what we deserve!"Hana Nasaka, 25, told Xinhua while giving her partner Nami a big squeeze. "Being bisexual for us is not a fad or fashion, it's something we've both struggled with for many years as it wasn't considered normal." "But then we found each other, and now we've found thousands of others who are just like us, and we understand that no one has the right to determine what is considered 'normal',"Nasaka said, the sun bouncing off her electric blue wig as she sashayed off with her partner and the rest of that parade, dressed identically in their neo-punk schoolgirl uniforms. Endi