Japan LGBTQ Workplace Survey Finds Many in Community are Struggling

A new survey by a leading LGBTQ rights group in Japan finds many in the community struggling for acceptance and support in the workplace.

By Kay Benton

A new report on conditions for LGBTQ people in Japanese workplaces found many in the community are struggling — and that the pandemic only made things worse.

The survey

Japan-based LGBTQ rights organization Nijiiro (Rainbow) Diversity recently released the results of their 2022 survey. This survey asked members of the LGBTQ community to rate and describe their experiences in the workplace. Conducted annually since 2014, it attracted nearly 3000 responses throughout May and June 2022.

Nijiiro Diversity leader Muraki Maki and researchers from Hosei and Osaka Universities designed the 2022 survey. It focused on workplace harassment, changing government policies, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Japan’s LGBTQ population.

2022 survey respondents ranged in age from 15 to 70. 70% of respondents identified as female, 28% as male and around 2% as nonbinary or other. Most lived in the Kanto region, although responses did come from all four of Japan’s islands…