Sept. 12 is a solemn day for the people of Turkey. It is the anniversary of the 1980 coup d’état — when members of the National Security Council, along with the armed forces, dissolved the Turkish parliament, arrested hundreds of thousands of people, and entered a three-year period of martial law. 

On Sept 12, the 46th anniversary of the 1980 coup, the country faced another wave of arrests; this time they targeted the LGBTQ community. The government launched the national “My Family Is Safe” campaign, which triggered mass raids and arrests of LGBTQ organization leaders, advocates, academics, and sexual health treatment centers for people with HIV. (These include EU-funded organizations launched by the Turkish government in 2005.) Since the nation has seen a decline in birthrate and a swelling economic crisis, this has allowed authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and conservatives in Turkey to use the LGBTQ community as the ideal scapegoat. 

“This is the cruelest part. It was Erdoğan’s own party that made it easier to found NGOs in 2005 as an EU accession process, and that is how many LGBTI+ groups came to be officially registered.” Ali Yildiz, a linguistics graduate student at the University of Cologne in Germany, told the Washington Blade. “Everything was legal, transparent and official. Now those same registrations are being used as arrest lists. The state is basically punishing those who trusted it. It sounds very much like the Nazis. They also used member lists of associations to persecute them later.” 

Yildiz has witnessed the oppression of the Turkish government firsthand: in 2024, he moved to Germany. As one of the board members of a grassroots NGO that focuses on sexual health, Yildiz was at risk of arrest and prosecution. 

As part of the “My Family Is Safe” operation on Sept. 12, police raided Yildiz’s family’s former home to find him. 

In the aftermath of these raids in Turkey’s major cities, protestors have gathered at Turkish embassies across Europe and the U.S.

A critical discourse has also emerged as a response to the crackdown across international queer media: how should the West cover oppressive regimes abroad? 

“From what I see, the Western reading of Turkey’s crackdown on LGBTI+ people usually goes: it’s a conservative, Muslim country, so this is what you’d expect. I believe that framing is incomplete, and it lets the people responsible off the hook. The Erdoğan regime is also heavily relying on this contextualization,” said Yildiz. “The government is not simply reacting to existing conservatism but is actively shaping it. Look at how operations are presented: raids on LGBTI+ organizations and activists come packaged with claims about drugs, obscenity, sex work, or organized crime on other groups in the news. The evil strategy is to link LGBTI+ people with criminality in the public mind.”

The LGBTQ community is not the only group that has been under the weight of oppression. Political opponents and descendants whom Erdoğan deems criminals are also charged with treason. 

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is the leading candidate for the upcoming 2028 presidential elections for the opposition center-left Republican People’s Party, was arrested on terrorism charges in 2024. On the same day, he was nominated as the CHP’s presidential candidate.

For a while, X served as a platform to express discontent with the government, but that changed recently when Elon Musk blocked nearly 500 accounts in Turkey. The Turkish government also banned Grok after the AI system responded to a user’s question about Erdoğan, which government leaders found offensive. 

The visibility of these pages has decreased. With a VPN, citizens can still access the pages because they were banned only in Turkey, not internationally. 

Discontent with the government is increasing, but so is government oppression. 

Not only have LGBTQ pages been shut down, but many journalists and academics have also had their pages banned.

The Blade spoke to an anonymous academic living in Ankara, the Turkish capital, who said Erdoğan, U.S. President Donald Trump, and other authoritarian leaders are constantly learning from each other.

“These anti LGBTQ+ policies are being created in the name of preserving traditional family values and are not only a threat to Türkiye,” they said. “It is also a global issue that threatens people everywhere. It should be perceived as an international problem. That is why we LGBTQ+ people need to act in solidarity internationally.” 

Because of the compounding human rights crisis happening simultaneously around the globe, visibility has been advocates in Turkey’s main challenge. 

Since 2022 there have been a series of crackdowns against opposition parties, academics, labor unions, student organizations, journalist and advocates. Another anonymous academic in Istanbul told the Blade that after the 2022 crackdown, “people were intimidated, and most people did not feel encouraged to organize.” 

In the weeks following this recent crackdown, discontent with the Erdoğan government has increased along with inflation and unemployment, not helped by the war in Iran.

“Our leaders do not say anything about the financial crisis,” said the Istanbul academic.

High inflation, high unemployment rates, many factories, and businesses have left Türkiye and transferred their businesses to other countries. And because of the timing of these recent crackdowns, during this financial crisis, many people haven’t been paying attention.

Though for many queer and transgender Turks, post-Sept. 12 life has been radically different. 

“I stopped doing drag in order to protect myself, and many queer performance artist friends of mine have also given up this part of their lives,” said one source who asked the Blade to remain anonymous.

“Everybody is not scared, but they simply bring their fear with them to the march and march courageously, because they believe they are on the right side of history,” they added. “However, I think it is important that people in Turkey are not represented only through their experiences of victimization. There should also be spaces where artists, activists, journalists, and other queer people can express themselves in their own words.”

The justification for this crackdown has been preserving “traditional family and conservative values.” The Turkish government has persecuted these offenses with raids, trials, and arrests that have gone beyond just the LGBTQ community. It targeted last year musicians, performers, and artists whom they deemed obscene or offensive.

In September 2025, the K-pop-inspired girl band Manifest was investigated for three months. Footage from their shows was banned from the internet, and the remainder of their tour was canceled. All seven members of the group faced 3 1/2 months prison sentences before the charges were ultimately dropped. 

“I believe there is no pride for only some of us. Governments that attack LGBTQ+ rights learn from each other.” Yildiz tells the Blade, “Erdoğan borrows from Putin’s playbook, and parts of the Western right eagerly adopt the same rhetoric. This is a call for our community to see how important international solidarity is. People show up every single year for the Pride March, even though they know the police are going to attack. What I see in our community is pure courage.”

LGBTQ exclusion may be costing Japan as much as ¥16.42 trillion ($10.35 billion) annually, according to a new report by Open for Business, which argues that greater inclusion could help address the economic pressures facing a country with a shrinking population and workforce.

Japan’s population is projected to decline from 126.15 million in 2020 to about 87 million by 2070, according to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research. As the country confronts a shrinking workforce; the economic stakes of retaining talent, improving productivity, and ensuring that LGBTQ people can participate fully in the economy are becoming increasingly significant.

Open for Business estimates that the costs extend beyond lost earnings. 

The organization attributes between $25.1 billion to $75.1 billion annually to the excess economic burden associated with depression, suicide and self-harm, cardiovascular disease and HIV/AIDS, and another $12.2 billion to $26.2 billion to lost earnings linked to the LGBTQ wage gap.

A 2026 survey by Dentsu Japan, the Japanese arm of global advertising and public relations company Dentsu Group, found that 10.6 percent of respondents aged 20-59 identified as LGBTQ, up from 9.7 percent in 2023. The survey polled 46,658 people living in Japan.

The report argues that Japan already has the foundations for greater LGBTQ inclusion; pointing to public support, corporate leadership, and growing legal momentum. Progress on these fronts, it says, could reduce the economic costs of exclusion, strengthen workforce participation and help Japan remain competitive. 

“For Japan, LGBTQ inclusion is not simply a question of fairness. It is part of the country’s economic resilience,” the report states.

Japan does not legally recognize same-sex marriages at the national level, but partnership systems have spread across local governments. As of 2024, municipalities operating such systems covered nearly 93 percent of Japan’s population. The certificates can help couples access certain services, but they do not carry the same legal status as marriage, including in areas such as inheritance and medical decision-making.

The absence of marriage recognition can leave same-sex couples facing uncertainty over hospital access, medical decisions, and survivor benefits. It can also complicate employers’ decisions about spousal health coverage, relocation assistance and family leave, particularly when policies depend on a marriage recognized under Japanese law.

Japan’s PRIDE Index, administered by the nonprofit Work with Pride since 2016, evaluates corporate initiatives related to LGBTQ employees across five categories, awarding Bronze, Silver or Gold ratings. In 2025, 931 companies headquartered in Japan were assessed, with 80 percent receiving the highest, Gold rating.

Despite progress in corporate inclusion, workplace practices remain uneven. 

A 2026 workplace white paper by Nijiiro Diversity found that 55 percent of surveyed employees reported no concrete LGBTQ measures at their workplaces. A separate 2025 survey found that 30 percent of professionals had experienced workplace discrimination or bias based on sexual orientation, while 27 percent reported bias based on gender identity. Only about one-third said they felt comfortable disclosing their sexual orientation or gender identity at work.

The report also points to disparities in HIV and STI outcomes. 

Men who have sex with men accounted for an estimated 82 percent of newly diagnosed HIV cases in Japan, according to the report. In a separate study at a Japanese gender-affirming clinic, researchers screened 275 transgender and gender-diverse patients and found that 6.2 percent tested positive for HIV or another sexually transmitted infection. All were asymptomatic when tested.

The report also estimates substantial losses from the LGBTQ wage gap. 

It puts Japan’s total earned income at about $1.81 trillion, of which LGBTQ workers account for an estimated $175 billion, or 9.7 percent. Applying a wage gap of 7 to 15 percent, a range the report says is supported by OECD analysis, yields an estimated $12.3 billion to $26.3 billion in lost wages annually. Japanese research cited in the report also points to economic disparities among transgender workers, who are disproportionately represented in non-regular employment and lower-income groups.

“Public attitudes and many leading companies have moved considerably, but national frameworks and everyday workplace experience have not yet caught up. That creates both a challenge and an opportunity,” said Open for Business CEO Ken Janssens. “Japan’s population is projected to fall from roughly 125 million in 2020 to fewer than 87 million by 2070, while its working-age population is already contracting. The country ranks 14th globally for talent appeal but 55th for talent readiness, according to the report. In that context, Japan simply does not have talent to waste. Every worker who is less healthy, less productive, pushed into lower-paid work or unable to participate fully because of discrimination represents a cost that becomes harder to absorb as the labour force shrinks.”

Janssens further told the Washington Blade that the report’s ultimate message is that LGBTQ inclusion is a question of fairness, but in Japan, it is increasingly a question of economic resilience as well. The foundations for further progress are already there. The challenge now is to convert visible corporate leadership and social momentum into consistent practice and clearer protections.

Akira Nishiyama, a spokesperson for the Japan Alliance for LGBT Legislation, told the Blade that Japan’s business sector has pushed for stronger legal protections for sexual and gender minorities. 

In 2017, the Japan Business Federation, known as Keidanren, announced a policy calling for nondiscrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Its chairperson also stressed the importance of legislation explicitly prohibiting such discrimination in 2023.

Nishiyama added Japan’s laws addressing workplace power harassment cover harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity, outing someone without their consent, and forcing or pressuring someone to disclose or conceal their identity. Employers and local governments are required to take measures to prevent such harassment.

“While such legal frameworks and social momentum continue to advance, a law prohibiting discrimination based on SOGI has still not been enacted,” said Nishiyama. “In other words, legal measures to address discriminatory treatment, such as discriminatory hiring refusals, unreasonable transfers, and coerced resignations, are still insufficient. When legislations are needed to bridge this gap, I believe that initiatives promoted by the business sectors as well as the issuance of clear policies aimed at prohibiting discrimination, will serve as one of the major driving forces in this effort.”

Makiko Terahara, co-representative and leader of the business collaboration team at Marriage for All Japan, told the Blade that the figures are estimates and that the report does not claim legal reform alone would eliminate the economic losses.

“But the connection is real. Without marriage, same-sex couples have no spousal status for inheritance, tax, social security or medical decision-making. Without anti-discrimination legislation, employees have no clear legal remedy. This insecurity drives the concealment, stress and wage gaps that the report quantifies. So yes, I believe stronger legal protections would have a measurable impact on health, retention and Japan’s ability to attract talent,” she said.

Terahara also noted to the Blade the report cites a study finding that living in a municipality with a partnership system was not associated with better mental health. She said symbolic recognition without legal rights is not enough.

“The report confirms that Japanese society and business are already ahead of national law,” said Terahara. “Public opinion and leading companies have moved, and the remaining gap is in legislation. The report shows that marriage equality is not only a human rights issue but also an economic one, and that the cost of inaction is being paid now.”

The Open for Business report can be read here.

The International Criminal Court this week unsealed arrest warrants for four Taliban officials in Afghanistan accused of targeting LGBTQ people, women, and others who defy the group’s strict gender norms.

The warrants the ICC unsealed on Oct. 5 are for Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme leader, and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani. The ICC also unsealed warrants for Education Minister Habibullah Agda and Higher Education Minister Neda Mohammad Nadim.

The ICC last year announced warrants for Akhundzada and Haqqani, as the Washington Blade previously reported.

“In the warrants of arrest, the (Pre-Trial) Chamber (II), in line with current developments in international law, found that the definition of ‘gender’ in the Rome Statute necessitates an interpretation that goes beyond a purely biological conception of sex,” reads the ICC’s Oct. 5 announcement. “It considered that it requires acknowledging the socially constructed roles, behaviors, expectations, and hierarchies traditionally associated with individuals on the basis of their sex. The Chamber considered that these societal constructs, commonly referred to as ‘gender norms,’ form part of the contextual lens through which acts amounting to gender-based persecution under article 7(1)(h) must be assessed.”

“It found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the four suspects are criminally responsible for having ordered, induced or solicited the crime against humanity of persecution, under article 7(1)(h) of the Rome Statute, on gender grounds against girls, women, and other persons non-conforming with the Taliban’s policy on gender, gender identity or expression; and on political grounds against persons perceived as ‘allies of girls and women,’” it adds. “These crimes are believed to have been committed on the territory of Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power on Aug. 15, 2021, and have continued until at least Jan. 20, 2025.”

The Rome Statute established the ICC, which is in the Dutch city of The Hague, in 2002 after 60 countries ratified it.

The U.S. is among the countries that do not recognize the ICC. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday announced U.S. sanctions against the ICC, which he described as a “rogue court.”

Then-ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan in January 2025 announced a request for warrants against Taliban officials over their treatment of women and other groups since they regained control of Afghanistan in 2021. It marked the first time the ICC specifically named LGBTQ people as victims in a gender persecution case before it.

A report that Outright International released in 2023 notes Taliban officials have systematically targeted LGBTQ people — especially gay men and transgender women.

Taliban officials have subjected them to physical and sexual assault as well as arbitrary detention. The Outright International report also notes Taliban authorities have carried out public floggings for alleged same-sex sexual relations, and have collected intelligence on LGBTQ activists and community members.

Artemis Akbary, executive director of the Afghanistan LGBTIQ Organization, on Oct. 5 described the additional arrest warrants as “huge.”

“For LGBTIQ+ people, this matters enormously,” he said. “It strengthens the understanding that gender persecution can also capture persecution based on non-conformity with imposed gender roles, identities, and expressions.”

“This is an important development for accountability in Afghanistan, and potentially far beyond it,” added Akbary.