5 years since the death of a Hitotsubashi University graduate student. "I want to eliminate discrimination," says his classmate, who is now a lawyer. The university LGBTQ support network releases a memorial video.

A law student (25 years old at the time) in Hitotsubashi University was outed as gay to his classmates. This affected his mental health, which led him to jump off a school building. August 24, 2020 marks the 5th year since this incident happened. His classmate at the time has finally graduated and become a lawyer. As a lawyer, he plans "to eliminate discrimination and prejudice against sexual orientation and gender identity." He says this in an interview published in a Tokyo Newspaper article. Furthermore, the LGBTQ+ support network in the university released a memorial video.

　Even now, Mr. B, the classmate of the deceased Mr. A, regrets that "he didn't know how to help his classmate when he was outed to his fellow aspiring lawyers." They took the same classes together for about a year and a half. He recalls Mr. A as an amazing and friendly guy.

　On the day they had a mock trial, the deceased looked unwell during class. He jumped off the school building that same night, according to a faculty member. "We didn't know what had happened. Even in class, there was somehow an unspoken agreement that we couldn't talk about it," Mr. B says. He learned about how Mr. A was outed after one year he died when the bereaved filed a lawsuit.

    Mr. B got increasingly worried that he might have also contributed to his classmate's pain. "I cannot find atonement for his death, but I cannot allow history to repeat itself," he says. He attended pride parades and conferences regarding the incident. He also joined seminars that discussed human rights issues.

　Because of the incident, outing turned into a bigger social issue. This led Kunitachi city, the city where Hitotsubashi University was, to implement a ban specifically against outing queer individuals in 2018. The city mandated preventive measures against outing under the power harassment law in June 2020. "It might be presumptuous for me to speak on behalf of the dead, but I want to be able to prevent something like this tragic case from ever happening again," Mr. B says, now working as a lawyer.

　The bereaved called for a trial and settled with the classmates involved with the outing that happened in a LINE group. As for the problem with the university's handling of the case, the Tokyo district court decided to set aside the demands of the bereaved during the judiciary decision in the first trial. Mr. B says that right now, negotiations are still on-going to reach an amicable settlement in an appeal trial.

　LGBTQ+ Bridge Network, the university club that supports LGBTQ students, prepared a memorial video as they commemorate the 5th year of Mr. A's death anniversary. The club president, Kohei Honda, the vice president, Tomoya Nishira, and a club member, Sae Yamaguchi, talk about the outing incident in the video.

　Many students donated flowers to remember his death anniversary starting last year, but because of the countermeasures against COVID-19, entering the university is restricted. However, members of the LGBTQ+ Bridge Network thought that his death anniversary was "one of the few times in a year to remember this incident," so they made this video.

　The video is about 19 minutes long and follows three people recalling the outing incident. Mr. Honda is a friend of Mr. A's younger sister. "I hope people realize that LGBTQ+ students can be anyone around you. I want to create an environment where people can ask themselves why they don't think they know or have met LGBTQ+ folks in their lives," he says. Mr. Nishira is currently focusing his research on discrimination in society. He says, "I want Hitotsubashi University to be a place where students can study without worrying about their safety, where students and staff can go to school safely." Additionally, Ms. Yamaguchi says, "We should not let the same incident happen again. I want to see improvement from the university administration in how they will create a safe space within a closed environment usually found in a university." They all emphasized how important it is to create an environment for LGBTQ students to study without the fear of being outed.

　In the video, they are asking for people to send them messages, which they will deliver to the bereaved family members. Please take the time to watch the video. [It has English subtitles, so people who do not know Japanese can watch it.]

　They cannot bring Mr. A back to life, but the people who knew him are still fighting against LGBTQ discrimination. They want to create a safe space for LGBTQ students. They continue their work as activists and changing people's minds. (Mr. A must be proudly watching from the clouds.)

　I think that all of us, to some extent, are part of the bereaved family. I hope that each one of us takes his death as a sign to do whatever we can to help.

　Around the world, we have different days for the LGBTQ community like the International Anti-Homophobia Day and National Coming Out Day. (They are more of a movement rather than days of commemoration.). I hope that August 24 will be a "day when we think about the consequences of outing someone." I hope that it will become a day remembered nationwide.　

Reference:

5 years after the death of the outing incident victim, his classmate becomes a lawyer and wants to eliminate discrimation and prejudice. (Tokyo Newspaper): https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/50662



Source of the article: https://www.outjapan.co.jp/lgbtcolumn_news/news/2020/8/27.html