TalkFriday 8 July 2022
6:00pm – 7:00pm
Queer activist Kan on marriage equality in Japan
Drinks reception: 7:00pm – 8:00pm
13/14 Cornwall Terrace, Outer Circle (entrance facing Regent's Park), London NW1 4QP
Organised by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation
In this talk, Kan discussed the difficulties he had attending a Japanese school where heterosexuality and gender categories were taken for granted, his struggles with his own sexuality and his coming out to his Japanese family and friends, his decision to study overseas in search of a more inclusive environment, and his move to the UK in 2021, given Japan’s continued non-recognition of marriages with same-sex partners. He also discussed Japan’s social and legal environment as it relates to sexual minorities, and what Japan can do to create a more liveable environment for them.
A video of Kan’s talk can be watched here:
About the contributors
Kan
Kan studied abroad in Canada while he was an undergraduate. After graduating from university, he gained a post-graduate qualification in gender and sexuality in the UK. On returning to Japan, he started working in marketing for a cosmetics company. He was featured in episode 2 of Netflix’s Queer Eye: We’re in Japan! in 2019. As an activist for the queer community he is active on social media and in organising and giving talks at companies and schools about sexuality and being one’s true self. He moved to the UK in July 2021, got married, and currently lives in London with his husband, Tom. He continues to pursue his career in marketing at a cosmetics company in London.