10.6% of people in Japan identify as LGBTQ+

We are in June, which means we are in Pride month, which means we should expect to see a lot more stories like this rolling through the media.

A new survey has found that 10.6% of people in Japan identify as LGBTQ+. The poll asked 46,658 individuals aged 20 to 59.

The survey was run by advertising giant Dentsu, whose interest in the subject perhaps shows how important and potentially lucrative the LGBTQ+ yen is to corporate brands.

Dentsu has previously carried out similar surveys, the last one of which was in 2023, which found that 9.7% self-identify as LGBTQ+. Presumably, greater understanding and awareness of sexual diversity accounts for the small increase, though gender and sexuality in Japan has always had fluidity and historically more tolerated than in Western nations due to an absence of morality based on Christian notions of sin. Homosexual relationships among male samurai, for instance, were not unknown. However, Japan does not allow same-sex marriage, despite widespread public support and efforts by local governments to introduce de facto recognition for partnerships.

These latest results about identity are generally in line with most other nations with freedom for sexual minorities. Ipos polling finds that many other countries have between 9 and 14% of people self-identifying as LGBTQ+ (the United States, for instance, is 11%).

The Dentsu survey also asked opinions regarding school education about sexual diversity. Though this part of the survey had a smaller sample of 6,240, it found that 81.7% expressed support for education on diverse sexual and gender identities.

Time Out Tokyo has a more detailed breakdown of the survey results.