First trans legislator in Japan | He promised to fight …

Japan's Ayako Fuchigami became the first trans-legislator to be elected a member of the Japan Assembly in last Sunday's local elections. "I want to give back to those who supported me by working hard to create a society in which LGBT people can be active," Fuchigami said after learning the result.

Fuchigami presented his candidacy to the Democratic Constitutional Party of Japan (PCDJ) and won a seat at the badembly of an eastern electoral district of Sapporo City, on the island of Hokkaido, the district the most northern of the Japanese archipelago.

The choice of Fuchigami is the first time a transgender person has held a position in one of the country's bademblies, information confirmed by the Lesbian, Gay, Transgender and Bibadual Association for local representatives of Japan. Fuchigami decided to embark on politics after the suicide of a partner and in order to change the attitude of Japanese society towards the LGBT collective.

His campaign was based on the fight for the equality of marriage or some kind of legal recognition of same-bad couples, which is not contemplated in current Japanese legislation. He also promised to work on creating a framework to improve the integration of LGBT people in education, among others.

Fuchigami was born as a man in Saga district on the island of Kyusu (southwest) and completed his postgraduate studies at Hokkaido University. In 2000, he began working at the Ministry of Agriculture, where he investigated a variety of rice able to grow in cold lands. Years later, he left his job at the ministry.

Fuchigami was aware of her badual orientation since elementary school, but she revealed it later, in adulthood. Her situation began to change a year after leaving the ministry and her debut as a dancer at a popular Sapporo club. Later, he officially changed his name to Ayako.