Kanako Otsuji

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Kanako Otsuji (尾辻かな子 Otsuji Kanako, born December 16, 1974) is a member of the Osaka Prefectural Assembly (4-year term; Sakai-ku, Sakai City constituency), first elected in April, 2003. So far, she has been the only openly gay elected official in Japan.

In August, 2005, she published an autobiography Coming Out: A Journey to Find My True Self (Japanese "Jibun rashisa wo mitsukeru tabi") and came out as the country's first lesbian politician.

In the fall 2005 session of the assembly, Otsuji was instrumental in bringing about a legislative change that allows same-sex couples to rent housing from the Osaka Prefectural Housing Corporation, a privilege previously limited to 'families'–a term that excluded all non-married partners. Since same-sex marriage is not legal in Japan, rental by such couples was impossible.

In March-April, 2006, Otsuji attended ILGA (International Lesbian and Gay Association) world conference in Geneva, Switzerland. In June, she met many LGBT politicians and activists on her US visit sponsored by the International Visitor Leadership Program of the US Department of State.