--Over the past five years, we have seen many countries in the world like France and Spain develop systems for same-sex partnerships and recognize gay marriage, yet we don't see this happening in Japan. It's even not mentioned or debated. What do you think about that?

Yamashita:
I think Japan still has a ways to go. Mostly because LGBT people still don't have a visible presence in Japan at this point. As long as we are not visible, then LGBT issues will not be recognized as being close to the public - making it impossible for laws covering them to be accomplished. As long as people are not coming together to raise their voices, change is going to be very difficult. For example, in the case of Japan's GID Law, vocal action by trans-people stirred the country to action, making legal change possible. At this point in time, there are hardly any gay individuals or couples willing to speak out. Change will be very hard unless this can be overcome, and I think it's also necessary that we have a greater number of approaches to the issues as well.

Mochizuki:
Yes, things may have been different already had Kanako Otsuji won in the elections.

Y:
Well, I think that as long as the LDP is in power, even Otsuji would be hard-pressed to bring about change. In the LDP a lot of people genuinely think that women are "birthing machines. "(* Japanese Health Minister Yanagihara made a statement early in January-2007 calling women"birthing machines". This, needless to say, caused a huge scandal in Japan.) They may use the words "gender equality" but their minds and actions reveal the opposite intent - so I think that it's impossible for them to grasp or understand LGBT issues with any depth. It would be best if political powers changed and more LGBT people came to the fore. If Diet members willing to positively tackle LGBT issues made the scene, then I think that change would be possible at an even faster pace than we'd think.

--As you watch international news, what country do you believe will be the next to install a partnership system?

Y:
I think Sweden. Also, there's a lot of pushing and pulling taking place in Colombia right now. A bill passed the Lower Chamber of Representatives, but I suppose change in Sweden is more certain. Already, conservative churches are conducting gay marriages, so I figure that in a year or two legal partnerships will be realized.

--In your eyes, what country is the most gay-friendly?

M:
I'd have to say Canada or Holland.

Y:
I've been told that nobody so much as blinks in Holland when you use the word 'gay'. It seems that they think that each person's sexuality is their own right. It's a very liberal country, though not necessarily actively concerned with LGBT issues in particular. So that's why, if I were to consider everything as a whole, I'd say Canada is more gay-friendly. I lived for one year in one of the most conservative regions in Canada, but even there you'd see gay couples pushing baby carriages on a more or less regular basis. It didn't even look like anyone had a problem with it.

M:
Going back to talk of change in Japan, one thing that has surprised me recently is the fact that we now see more gay couples holding hands in public. Especially in Shinjuku.

Y:
But that's still not going to happen yet in the rural areas.

-Since you mentioned it, do you hold hands in public? (laughs)

M:
(laughs) I don't.

Y:
In Japan, there is a culture where women, straight ones too, can hold hands in public - so that poses little problem for women. In Korea, there is a tradition of close physical contact, so you can find women who are not a couple holding hands, or men with their arms about each other's shoulders.

M:
In Japan, two men holding hands is pretty much equivalent to a coming-out, so whether or not we do that depends on the degree to which we have come-out in our lives. If, for example, you're not out about your sexual orientation at work, then it will be hard to openly hold hands - since you never know who you will see when you go out. So, with that in mind, as long as things don't change in society and the workplace, it would be hard for even me to be so open.

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