Tokyo Rainbow Week 2014

Tokyo Rainbow Week celebrates LGBT pride with a host of events including a rip-roaring parade, which last year saw more than 12,000 people gathering in Yoyogi Park and taking to the streets alongside floats and fancy dress. For 2013’s event, seven LGBT organisations, including Tokyo Rainbow Pride, joined forces to host the event. Several embassies collaborated to launch ‘The World Supports You’ Embassy Project, which saw representatives from countries including the UK, the US, the Netherlands, France and Sweden setting up booths and handing out information on LGBT news and events in their countries. Even Japanese politicians got involved, with Taiga Ishikawa, a Tokyo politician and LGBT activist, delivering a speech about improving living conditions for gay people in Tokyo. It is estimated that 5.2 percent of Japan’s population is LGBT so ‘our aim is to raise awareness of sexual minorities... Our hope is that people will understand them better as a result,’ says Tokyo Rainbow Week leader Fumino Sugiyama. This year the main parade will begin at Yoyogi Park again but all other events will be held at different venues, so for the full schedule go to www.tokyorainbowweek.jp.