FEATURE: Transsexual assembly member sees Japan changing

Japan Policy & Politics, May 20, 2003

TOKYO, May 15 Kyodo

Two weeks after making headlines by winning a seat as a transsexual in the assembly of Tokyo's Setagaya Ward, Aya Kamikawa says she has seen the Japanese public slowly change.

One of a tiny minority of people with gender identity disorder (GID) in Japan's conservative society, Kamikawa at first faced a chilly reception to her campaign for the April 27 poll.

''Through running in the election, talking to people and getting them to listen, I think they gradually came to understand that although GID patients are a minority, we also earnestly lead lives in the same world as the general public,'' said Kamikawa, who was born a man but lives as a woman.

In the surprise win, she took 5,000 votes and placed sixth among 72 candidates, a sign that Japanese may be moving toward accepting difference in a culture steeped in uniformity.

Kamikawa, 35, recalled starting her campaign in mid-February and facing distrust and cynicism in people she approached.

''The general public tends to draw a line somewhere between themselves and GID patients,'' she said. ''For us, the line is one where we are being looked down upon.''

But after several soapbox speeches outside train stations, there were signs that the public was warming to her.

Kamikawa frankly spoke of her identity problem and explained the inconvenience and humiliation faced by transsexuals in daily life because their appearance does not match their gender in identification documents.

Gradually, crowds no longer stared at her with disdain. In the weeks that followed they began to accept her flyers, some gave her words of encouragement and even applauded after her speeches. On cold wintry days, some people even brought her hot drinks to show their support.

''I realized then that my message was getting through,'' said Kamikawa, who ran as an independent without any party support and campaigned to remove gender notations in public documents when unnecessary. ''There was an incredible change in the public reaction. I was very glad.''

Experts estimate there are 7,000-70,000 people with GID out of Japan's population of 127 million. The Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology introduced guidelines for sex-change operations in May 1997. Kamikawa is on a waiting list for an operation this year.

GID patients feel uncomfortable with the gender they were born with and want to live and be accepted as members of the opposite sex. Six people with GID who had sex changes filed civil suits in 2001 seeking to have their new genders recorded in their family registers, but courts have already rejected three of the cases.

On the morning after the election, residents greeted Kamikawa warmly with congratulations and encouragement.

''I felt that each and every one of the votes was a message conveyed,'' she said. ''The most unforgettable remark I got from a number of people that day was that 'The world is better than we thought.' I guess they were pleased that I spoke out on the issues from the stance of a minority.''

Her election bid has already prompted changes in the central and local governments over the handling of gender in public documents.

Kamikawa was allowed to file her election candidacy as a female, although she is listed a male in her official family registry. In moves apparently reflecting her wishes, the Setagaya election committee also removed the gender field in some election documents and listed her as a female in a roster of assembly members of all 23 Tokyo wards.

On the national level, the ruling bloc decided May 13 to discuss lawmaker-sponsored legislation regarding issues faced by GID patients and aim to pass it during the current Diet session. Some lawmakers have also urged for revisions to the Family Registration Law to allow changes to registered gender.

''Until now, I was just a small voice. From now on, I'll make use of my position (as an assembly member) to speak out'' on behalf of not only GID patients but Japan's minorities as a whole, she said of her plans for her four-year term.

Kamikawa aspires to change Japanese society, in which she says ''only the choice of the norm is safe,'' so that the mainstream can accept a range of lifestyles.

''Discrimination and bullying exist among children too. We can initiate change from education at the children's level,'' Kamikawa said, adding that training for public officials and school counselors is also important because they are often a gateway for minorities to voice their problems.

''With diversity, (Japan) will become a society that will be much easier to live in,'' she said.

Supporters and voters, as well as detractors, will wait and see if Kamikawa can make any concrete achievements during her tenure. But her campaign undoubtedly got the ball rolling.