Japan PM Kishida fires aide over same-sex couple outburst

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday fired an aide who said he wouldn’t want to live next to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender couples and warned that people would flee Japan if same-sex marriage was permitted.
In remarks reported by local media, Masayoshi Arai, an economy and trade official who joined Kishida’s staff as a secretary in October, added he did not even want to look at same-sex couples.
Speaking to reporters later in the day, the Japanese leader said he had dismissed Arai, who had earlier apologized for “misleading” comments made on Friday.
Arai’s comments had come after Kishida had said in parliament that same-sex marriage needed careful consideration because of its potential impact on the family structure.