Religion, Political Elites, and Institutional Opportunities in Japan and Taiwan: The Politics of Gay Marriage in East Asia

In the last decade, gay marriage has gained momentum in Asian societies. While some countries have extended the civil rights of same-sex couples and introduced marriage equality, others have shown significant opposition to gay marriage from political elites and religious organizations, despite the growing support for LGBT rights among the population. This divergence in policy patterns highlights the complex relationships between societal values, political dynamics, and religious influences within distinct institutional contexts. Previous studies investigating the policy processes on gay marriage have drawn their conclusions principally from Western societies, focusing on the clashes between secular political elites and religious authorities, and noting the salience of religion, particularly Catholicism. However, these factors fall short of explaining the policy trajectories on LGBT rights in East Asian societies, notably in Japan and Taiwan. Religious lobbies and conservative politicians have impeded the legalization of gay marriage in deeply secular Japan, despite recent rulings from some courts urging the introduction of adequate measures to recognize same-sex couples. In contrast, religious organizations and religiously inspired political actors have been largely unsuccessful in the less secularized Taiwan, which is at the forefront of implementing policy measures to extend the civil rights of LGBT individuals and couples. This paper compares the political debates and the policy processes on gay marriage in Japan and Taiwan, focusing on the institutional factors and the interactions between religious lobbies and political actors. Drawing on interviews with political actors and LGBT activists, as well as content analysis of policy documents, it highlights the institutional opportunities that shape these interactions and the resulting policy trajectories. The paper contends that the diverging policy patterns in Japan and Taiwan depend on the institutional opportunities in these countries that have influenced the strategies of political elites, the linkages between religious lobbies and secular political actors, and the agency of populist political entrepreneurs that depict themselves as the better defenders of national and family values. The aims of this study are twofold. Theoretically, it tests, expands, and suggests possible revisions to the Western-centric theoretical framework focused on the conflict between secularism and religion to explain the influence of religious groups on morality politics. Empirically, it sheds light on the dynamics between religious influence, decision-making, and populist politics on gay marriage. Additionally, this study also explores the subtle entanglement between religious values and widespread homo-nationalistic stances in the policy debates about LGBT rights. Through the examination of the cases of Japan and Taiwan, this paper not only provides a detailed comparative analysis of the gay marriage debates in two distinct East Asian countries but also contributes to a more global approach to the study of the role played by religion in divisive morality issues in contemporary secular societies.