Tokyo's annual Gay Pride parade got a
boost Sunday with the participation of Japan's first lady Akie Abe,
the wife of conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Thousands of people participated in the
parade, the high point of Tokyo Rainbow Week 2014, which runs through
May 6.
Abe waved to parade watchers from a
float and expressed her support in a Facebook post: “I want to help
build a society where anyone can conduct happy, enriched lives
without facing discrimination.”
“I had the pleasure of spending fun
time filled with smiles. Thank you,” she
added.
Shinya Yamagata, the organizer of Tokyo
Rainbow Week, said the parade, which was inaugurated in 2012,
attracted roughly 14,000 people.
“We saw approximately 14,000 people,
so the number has continued to increase for three straight years,”
Yamagata said on Japan
Real Time. “The parade has succeeded in becoming more than
an event for sexual minorities. There were many families and
children joining us on Sunday. We even had to make a public service
announcement for a lost child for the first time ever at our event.”
Yamagata added that organizers are
hoping to topple Taiwan as the biggest LGBT parade in Asia: “[W]e
are aiming for that. Currently the biggest LGBT parade in Asia is
held in Taiwan, which gathers over 60,000 people.”