Nearly 3,000 Japanese gays and lesbians turned up on the streets of downtown...(More)

Nearly 3,000 Japanese gays and lesbians turned up on the streets of downtown Tokyo hoping to make their presence felt and their voices heard in one of Asia's largest gay pride parades after Sydney and Bangkok. While Japan does not have any discriminatory laws against sexual minorities, many gays and lesbians say they feel that society as a whole tends to treat them as an invisible minority. It is not uncommon for men and women to be fired from companies, thrown out of homes and even physically assaulted in parks because they are gay. Organisers hope this parade will help people realise the gay community in Japan is a vibrant and happy one. "While there are many Japanese that still can't come out (of the closet) and Japanese society is believed to be oppressive to gays, we want to show that we can still come out and have fun. We want to show people that we are not unhappy and sexual minorities do not lead unhappy lives," said Hideki Sunagawa, organiser of the TLGP (Tokyo Lesbian Gay Parade) 2006. Many of the placards at the Pride Parade in Tokyo this year also called on for a change in the law in Japan to recognise same sex partnerships. Japan does not allow same sex unions and authorities often prevent Japanese nationals from trying to obtain a partnership with a foreigner. www.itnsource.com Reuters RTV1368106(Less)