AOC calls out minister’s ‘discriminatory’ statements on LGTBQ+ people during Japan visit

New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez used a visit to Japan this week to call for the country to legalise same-sex marriage, after a top official in the country’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party was caught earlier this month making hateful remarks about LGBT+ couples during an off-the-record briefing.

"There was a member of the Japanese administration that was caught in off-the-record comments making very discriminatory statements about LGBT people,” Ms Ocasio-Cortez said in a video posted on Instagram.

"Japan is the only member of the G-7 that does not have marriage equality and LGBT anti-discrimination equality protections in place," she added.

"The more we can all share our values across countries, the more we can cooperate," she said elsewhere in the video.