Japan PM fires aid over same-sex couple comments

Fumio Kishida

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday fired an aide who said he wouldn't want to live next to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender couples and warned that people would flee Japan if same-sex marriage was permitted.

In remarks reported by local media, Masayoshi Arai, an economy and trade official who joined Kishida's staff as a secretary in October, added he did not even want to look at same-sex couples.

Also Read: China expresses dissatisfaction after US shoots down suspected spy balloon

"His comments are outrageous and completely incompatible with the administration's policies," Kishida said.Speaking to reporters later in the day, the Japanese leader said he had dismissed Arai, who had earlier apologised for "misleading" comments made on Friday.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever