LLAN will hold our 8th Annual Equality Gala on October 27, 2023 at Tokyo American Club. We extends its deepest appreciation and gratitude to the speakers, sponsors, participants, and volunteers for their support of LLAN and LGBTQ equality in Japan. As in past years, we believe that this year’s Equality Gala will provide further inspiration for the LGBTQ equality movement in Japan – the success of which is impossible without your large-hearted corporate and individual support. This year’s Equality Gala will also offer a wonderful opportunity to meet old friends and make new connections. (The tickets are sold out).
Time: October 27, 2023 19:00 (Doors open: 18:00) -21:30
Venue: Tokyo American Club, 2-1-2 Azabudai, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Dress Code: Business, Ethnic, or Halloween
Program
19:00 Opening Remarks
Takayama Yasushi, LLAN Director, Director and Audit & Supervisory Committee Member of Nomura Real Estate Holdings, Inc
19:45 Report on LLAN Activities
Fujita Naosuke, LLAN Co-Chair
Alexander Dmitrenko, LLAN Co-Chair, Partner of Ashurst
20:00 Special Greetings
Ishikawa Taiga, Member of the House of Councillors
Makishima Karen, Member of the House of Representatives (Letter)
Koike Yuriko, Governor of Tokyo (Letter)
Evan Wolfson, Founder, Freedom to Marry (Video)
Surprise (AAA-rated) Guest
20:15 Performance by Durian Lollobrigida
with special message from Suzuki Ryohei, Japanese actor
20:30 Update on Marriage Equality Movement in Japan
Terahara Makiko, Representative Director of Marriage for All Japan
20:45 Transgender Rights in Japan Nomiya Aki, Advisor of Japan Alliance for LGBT Legislation, Lecturer, Kanagawa University
20:50 Keynote Speech
His Excellency Rahm Emanuel, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Japan (Video)
21:45 Closing Remarks
Jon Gray, LLAN Director, Partner of Davis Polk ＆Wardwell LLP
Please see the Article by Fukuda Ayaka, a student reporter from Youth Express Japan.
Speakers’ Profiles （In order of appearance）
Ishikawa Taiga
Mr. Ishikawa is a member of the House of Councilors (Constitutional Democratic Party) and a former Toshima city assembly member for 2 terms. Before being elected to the House of Councilors, Mr. Ishikawa was elected to the Toshima City assembly in 2011 as the first elected openly gay public official in Japan. Before that he was the representative of an NPO and secretary to another House of Councilors member.
Evan Wolfson
Evan Wolfson is an US attorney and the founder of Freedom to Marry, a group advocating for marriage equality in the United States. He is one of LLAN’s first and strongest supporters. Evan visited Japan on multiple occasions as the guest of LLAN, speaking about marriage equality in Hokkaido, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Oita, Fukuoka and Okinawa. Evan has been one of the key leaders of the equal marriage movement in the US and now leads global efforts, including in Japan.
Durian Lollobrigida
Durian Lollobrigida is a renowned drag queen singer who effortlessly struts on 20cm high heels, adorned with extravagant headpieces that seem to reach for the heavens, much like the people of Babel. After his debut in 2006, his distinctive long limbs, silver-tongued wit, and melodious voice have catapulted her into the spotlight. He has made appearances at various events and in movies and commercials, and has taken on roles as an MC, singer, actor, and model.
Tonight, he’s all set to send his a bit noisy laughter reverberating from the stage, promising a night filled with entertainment and mirth.
Terahara Makiko
Terahara Makiko is the representative director of “Marriage For All Japan” (2019-), the co-representative of the Tokyo legal team for the marriage equality litigation (2019-), and the co-representative of Tokyo Omotesando Law and Accounting LPC (2010-). Ms. Terahara served as an in-house lawyer of Merrill Lynch Japan Securities Co., Ltd. (2008-2010) and worked as an associate of a Japanese law firm (2000-2005). Ms. Terahara is a graduate of the University of Tokyo, Faculty of Law (1997). She qualified as an attorney in Japan in 2000, and after completing the LLM Program at New York University (2007), qualified as an attorney in New York (2008). Ms. Terahara has devoted herself to the protection of women’s rights and the rights of the LGBTQ community on a pro bono basis.
Nomiya Aki
Nomiya Aki is the Advisor for the Japan Alliance for LGBT Legislation and lecturer at Kanagawa University. She initiated her involvement with transgender self-help and support groups in 1998. In 2000, she assumed the role of an executive committee member for the Tokyo Lesbian & Gay Parade and became the director of Tokyo Pride later. During this time, she actively engaged in lobbying efforts alongside fellow transgender individuals to advocate for the enactment of the Act on Special Cases in Handling Gender Status for Persons with Gender Identity Disorder in 2003. Additionally, Nomiya Aki has shared her knowledge and insights on gender and sexuality as a lecturer at Kanagawa University.
Ambassador Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Emanuel was confirmed in a bipartisan vote as the 31st United States Ambassador to Japan on December 18, 2021. Previously, Ambassador Emanuel was the 55th Mayor of the City of Chicago, a position he held until May 2019. During that time, he made the critical choices necessary to secure Chicago’s future as a global capital. Prior to becoming Mayor, from November 2008 until October 2010, Ambassador Emanuel served as President Barack Obama’s Chief of Staff. From 2002 until 2008, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives. From 1993 to 1998, Ambassador Emanuel was a key member of President Bill Clinton’s administration, rising to serve as Senior Advisor to the President for Policy and Politics. Ambassador Emanuel graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1981 and received a Master’s Degree in Speech and Communication from Northwestern University in 1985.
LLAN 8th Annual Equality Gala Platinum Sponsors
