The current Prime Minister of Japan, Sanae Takaichi — the first woman in history to hold the post — is famed for boasting that she rarely sleeps. And, neither, it seems, does Japanese politics. Notorious for years for regular changes of Prime Minister (if not ruling party), Takaichi continued the tradition of sudden shake-ups by announcing a snap election for 8 February on 19 January, throwing the cat among the pigeons. Takaichi is popular, but alienated her Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) main partner,. Komeito, during her ascension.
However, that is not our focus today. As we have detailed, Takaichi is infamous for her anti-LGBTQ+ positions… but that doesn’t mean that people aren’t fighting back. Today, we’re going to be detailing Karen Yoda, of the Centrist-Reform Alliance, who is the first openly transgender person to be running for a seat in the Diet, the national parliament of Japan.
Early Life
Yoda was born in 1972 in Toyohashi City, Aichi Prefecture. Growing up, she became a huge fan of music and acting, but also worked hard at her studies, studying law at Aoyama Gakuin University. During her time at university, Yoda, who at the time still identified as a man, came out as gay to her friends, and met “a partner [she] could spend her life with.”
After graduation, she began working in our beloved Shinjuku Nichome, at the show pub La Saison, and soon even won a role in a stage musical of LGBTQ+ favorite Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon.
In 2007, her life changed when a trans woman, seemingly able to read her soul, said, “you were born to be a woman. You only live once. Why are you hesitating?”. This let the scales fall from Yoda’s eyes, and she soon decided to live as her authentic self, beginning hormone therapy and changing her name to “Karen,” a name chosen in concert with her partner.
She went on to open an office as an administrative scrivener. In addition to helping businesses, the “dancing scrivener” has also been in high demand from companies to give lectures and training on LGBTQ+ issues.
Political Life
In 2018, in response to a change in Shinjuku Ward’s ordinances on the use of parks, which Yoda thought might be used to restrict protests, she decided to run to be an assemblywoman, and began making engaging in openly political activities. In 2019, she was elected to the Shinjuku Ward Assembly as an independent candidate, the same day that another transgender candidate from the Japanese Communist Party won a seat in the Shinjuku Ward Assembly.
In 2022, she resigned from her position in the Shinjuku Ward Assembly in order to run in the Tokyo at-large District (a position elected by a proportional representative system) under the banner of the left-wing Reiwa Shinsengumi Party.
Unfortunately, she did not win a seat on this occasion, and so she went on to run for the position of mayor of Shinjuku. Earning the support not only of the Reiwa Shinsengumi Party, but also the Japanese Communist Party, the Constitutional Democratic Party, and the Social Democratic Party, as well as a vote of confidence from a number of lawyers based in Shinjuku, she very narrowly lost the vote to the incumbent.
On 14 January, 2026, she announced that she would be leaving the Reiwa Shinsengumi Party, where she had been working as a policy advisor, to join with the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and run for Tokyo’s 25th district, with the support of the Centrist-Reform Alliance.
Policies
As one might imagine from someone who has previously been a member of the Reiwa Shinsengumi Party, and who has enjoyed the support of left-wing and centrist parties, her policies are aimed squarely at social justice and egalitarianism. She advocates boosting the economy by eliminating consumption tax on food, which is a major expense for any household, and thereby freeing up disposable income.
She also advocates for marriage equality, an option for married couples to retain separate surnames, and creating environmental justice through combating climate change, and thus reducing the number of natural disasters. She also wants to eliminate the influence of big money in Japanese politics, and thereby create a society that is more equal and listens to everyone.
Vote!
The Japan Gay Guide is excited that, as time has gone on, more and more LGBTQ+ politicians are becoming prominent on the national stage. Yoda’s candidacy is not just a sign of the growing acceptance of LGBTQ+ people, but also the confidence of the community to make its voice heard under Japanese democracy.
Though the Japan Gay Guide is primarily aimed at foreign residents and visitors to Japan, for any Japanese readers, we would like to highly recommend that you vote. No matter which candidate, it’s important to make your voice heard.
Please vote! 投票してください！
