Fridae

Sporting a shock of short hair and a mischievous grin, Kanako Otsuji certainly does not look like your typical assemblywoman. Not only is she the youngest member of Osaka's Prefectural Assembly and one of only six assemblywomen in a distinctly male-dominated club, she will also be gunning to be the country's first openly gay lawmaker. She is supported by the Democratic Party of Japan, the country's largest opposition party, in the upcoming July election for parliament's upper house.

While she has always been open about her sexuality, she has been constantly advised by her own campaign team to keep mum about her sexual preference. However since being elected assemblywoman in April of 2003, the former Asian Junior karate champion, who studied Korean and taekwondo at Seoul University has been both tireless and vocal in her support of gay and lesbian rights.

Of her many achievements, she was instrumental in pushing through legislation allowing same sex couples in Osaka to apply for public housing - a right previously only married couples enjoyed. Having come out publicly as a lesbian the day before the 2005 Tokyo Pride, she has since participated and appeared at several gay pride events in Japan and served as the director of general affairs for the 2006 Kansai Rainbow Parade. In August 2005, she published an autobiography in Japanese Coming Out: A Journey to Find My True Self (カミングアウト～自分らしさを見つける旅). Otsuji also notably attended the International Lesbian and Gay Association's world conference in Geneva in March-April 2006.

In the face of criticism and doubt, Otsuji's unflagging efforts has won her whatever plaudits and support she might have initially lacked. With her term in the Osaka Assembly which expired in April, she had chosen to not stand for re-election, opting instead to run for a seat in the House of Councilors of the National Diet. Whether she fails or succeeds is widely acknowledged by the LGBT community as crucial in the ongoing fight to further gay and lesbian rights in Japan.