As covered before here on UJ, Japan is slowly but surely adopting legal measures and social attitudes protecting and respecting LGBT people. Of course, prejudice is still prevalent. You may recall the November 2020 anti-LGBT comments by one politician claiming LGBT discrimination doesn’t exist when it clearly does. Yet more and more people are raising their voices in the face of discrimination, racism, and sexism. (Former Prime Minister Mori is a perfect, current example of what happens when you say sexist remarks nowadays).
Mass media is also starting to give these issues more consideration. Recently, a popular news program interviewed children from LGBT families to bring to light the struggles that sexual minorities face.
However, there isn’t a program solely dedicated to exploring these issues and educating the public. A new webcast program is hoping to change that.
Nippon Television Network program news zero launched their webcast program “Update the world” to discuss issues on diversity in Japan. “Update the world” is an online-only, hour-long program currently scheduled to air in three segments. Openly gay man Shirakawa Daisuke is the program’s main producer. The program’s objective is to “update” or realign people’s sense of morals regarding issues not often covered in mainstream media. Part of their framework is based on the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Erasing the Line Between Knowledge and Ignorance
In an interview with Asahi Shinbun, Shirakawa shared how he doesn’t differentiate between people who know about gender issues (or any subject) and people who are ignorant about such issues. “Drawing a line [like that] only serves to perpetuate the divisions in society.”
Shirakawa also discussed in another interview his desire to make the news personal to younger viewers who may feel alienated by mainstream television. “When I think about why they’re not watching TV, I believe it’s because they don’t see the news as something that personally concerns them. They don’t have a real understanding of how this is connected to their lives and futures.”
This thinking also helped his approach in outlining his program’s first episode on LGBT issues. The panel started the discussion by asking viewers if they ask “Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?” when they first meet someone new. In Shirakawa’s opinion, prompting people to think about how questions like that can hurt someone is an easier entry point into talking about LGBT issues. “It’s more relatable than simply saying, ‘Let’s learn about LGBT issues!'” he says.
“Update the world” creative director Tsuji Asako expressed her desire to create a “learning space for adults” and voiced her concern over social media perpetuating the idea that not knowing something is bad. Her goal with “Update the world” is to dispel that myth. Viewers can learn about topics on diversity without fearing they’ll be blamed for not knowing in the first place. “This [program] is a place where people can say ‘I don’t understand’ and ‘I want to understand’.”
“This is Truly Revolutionary”
The first hour-long episode aired on January 31 on the platform TVer. The three guests who appeared came from a variety of backgrounds and orientations: Mukai Satoshi of the comedy trio Panther, writer and gay man Matsuoka Soushi, and transgender Dentsu employee Okabe Rin. The panel answered questions from Twitter, covered LGBT-related news stories, discussed issues surrounding coming out and being outed, and more.
Viewers praised the program’s lighthearted and open-minded atmosphere. One user tweeted, “This is truly revolutionary. I want to give a huge round of applause to the production team, the cast, and everyone at [news] zero.” Another user said, “It was easy to ask difficult questions, and I really learned a lot listening to people with different perspectives.”
The program’s second episode “Mixed Roots” will go live on February 26 and explore mixed race and hafu identities. Don’t fret if you miss the live recording: an archived version will be available on the program’s platform TVer. (Alas, if you’re not in Japan, you may need a VPN to access the video.) Given the positive reception to the first episode, it’s not too much of a stretch to expect the second episode to be just as engaging. Hopefully, more TV networks decide to give more due attention to diversity in Japan.
