Through the Eyes of the former Consul General Yamada (June, 2017 - July, 2020)

 

　On the morning of June 25, I noticed a large rainbow flag waving from the top of the Space Needle. My wife and I were discussing the fact that Seattle’s LGBT Pride Parade is prominent among others of its kind in the United States in terms of scale, when my 8-year-old son piped up, “Parade? I want to go see!” It seems he was envisioning something like the parades at Disneyland. In a liberal city like Seattle, I supposed there would be no danger of conflict, even at an LGBT parade. My wife is a midwife, and due to the nature of her job, has a particular interest in LGBT issues. For these reasons, we decided to attend Pride.

　LGBT is an acronym that stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender. If we trace back to ancient Rome and Greece, it seems that there was little antipathy toward love between men. However, in many countries today, including Japan, it is a reality that people who are not “straight” may be frowned upon by society, and often experience discriminatory treatment. Within the last 20 years or so, the fact that sexual orientation has a biological origin, and that LGBT people are not, as was often said, members of society that were ‘led astray’, has become more widely understood. According to a Gallup poll released in January this year, 4.1% of Americans identify as LGBT.¹ As a result of social movements for recognition and rights, the rights of LGBT people in countries around the world, including the United States, are gradually improving. In Washington, marriage equality became law in 2012. Seattle Mayor Ed Murray’s marriage to a Japanese-American man is widely known, and recently, during the NATO summit meetings, the same-sex spouse of Luxembourg’s Prime Minister gained public attention when he attended a gathering for the spouses of world leaders.

 
  To me, the Pride Parade was celebrated in a style uniquely American. Under the Space Needle at Seattle Center, there were many booths, and almost everyone there was wearing the iconic rainbow. Both the participants and the spectators were extremely cheerful, and showed pride in their identities. With each group devoted to its own theme, it reminded me of a Carnival parade. We even saw some characters from Star Wars!

   To my son, who had a puzzled expression on his face when he saw two adult men holding hands as they walked by, my wife said, “There are some men who fall in love with other men, and some women who fall in love with other women.” My son listened with an expression that said, “Oh.”
   
　Active movements by people who have been discriminated against created a political climate that made it possible to legalize same-sex marriage. On this day, I recognized that this kind of push for action is one important component of the diverse society that makes Washington so appealing.

　On June 21, a committee meeting on economic expansion and international relations was held at the Washington State Legislature. Consuls General and Honorary Consuls residing in the Seattle area were invited to attend, so I made my way to the state capital, Olympia.
　
　Washington is described as a blue state, meaning that the Democratic Party is said to have a firm electoral base here. Indeed, Washington’s two seats in the United States Senate are both occupied by Democrats, and the Governor is also a Democrat. However, looking at the State Legislature, where the Senate and House are almost equally split between Democratic and Republican Parties, we can hardly consider the state to be purely that of the Democratic Party. The Cascades run vertically through Washington. To the west of the mountains along the coast, there are many energetic high-tech companies; this area is liberal, and it largely supports the Democratic Party. The eastern part of the state is traditionally a thriving agricultural region, a conservative area that generally supports the Republican Party. The political climate in the eastern and western parts of the state are said to be completely different.

　Lieutenant Governor Cyrus Habib is a Democratic Party member and an Iranian American. After serving in the State Senate, he ran for Lieutenant Governor and was elected. He lost his vision at the age of 8 due to cancer, but he worked extremely hard, graduated from university and became a politician. When he visited Japan in the 90s, he enjoyed the foods of common people, such as takoyaki and okonomiyaki, and Japanese cuisine is now his favorite. 

　
　Senator Mark Schoesler is a Republican, and the Senate Majority Leader. He is a fifth-generation farmer from Ritzville. In his office, I was treated to a lovely American-style homemade cake.  

　Whether Democrat or Republican, I was left with the strong impression that leaders from both parties placed great emphasis on the importance of the economic, political and cultural connections between Japan and Washington State. The trust they demonstrate toward Japan is the accumulated result of the great efforts and faithfulness by Japanese Americans and Japanese citizens.  As Consul General, I am proud of this, and my feeling that Japan and the United States should continue to cooperate, oriented towards the future as they together deal with various challenges, was further strengthened.