The Economist - UK (2021-11-20)

The Economist November 20th 2021 Asia 59

Indiangovernmentsubsidies

A dangerous

addiction

B

ackatschoolthismonthforthefirst

timesinceearlylastyear,Delhi’schil­

drenarelockedoutagain,butnotbyco­

vid­19.Delhi’sairissofilthythatonNo­

vember13ththegovernmentdecreedanin­

definiteclosure.Onerarelymentionedrea­

sonforthepollutionalsoplaysa partina

hostofothertroubles:subsidies.Despite

endlesswarningsaboutmoralhazardand

distortedmarkets,politiciansandbureau­

cratskeepcreatingthem.

Delhi’sbadairinNovemberisonere­

sult.Farmershurrytoclearthericeharvest

beforeplantingspringwheat,burningoff

stubbleina vastpallofacridsmoke.Rice

usesa lotofwater,andtheregionaround

Delhiisfairlydry,butdecadesagothegov­

ernmentbeganpayingfatpricestopush

rice­growing.Italsosubsidisedwheat,fer­

tiliseranddieseltofuelwaterpumps.

Sofarmerspumpedevermorewaterto

growevermorewheatandrice.Withsome

9mpumps,parchedIndianowusesmore

groundwater than America and China

combined, and holds far bigger grain

stocksthanit needs.Diesel’slowpricealso

encouragedcarmakerstoswitchtothefuel

anddriverstobuyit,addingyetmorecar­

cinogenicsoottoDelhi’stoxicair.

Farm subsidies—amounting to some

$48bna yearifgovernment waivers on

bankloansareincluded—skewspending

awayfromsuchthingsaseducationand

publichealth.Theyhavealsocreateddan­

gerousdependence.Lastyeartensofthou­

sands of farmers besieged Delhi for

months,angeredbyreformstheythought

mightleadtoa reductioninhandouts.

Other subsidies,too,showhow good

intentions pave dangerous roads.Those

D ELHI

InmanyofIndia’sills,subsidies

playa part

More costly than they look

India, major government subsidies

% of total government spending

Source:GovernmentofIndiabudgetdocuments *Forecast

10

8

6

4

2

0

22*20181614122010

Financial years ending March

Petrol

Fertiliser

Food

LGBTinJapan

A matter of

some pride

W

henaiko(notherrealname)wasat
schoolnearly 20 yearsago,herpar­
entsfoundaloveletteranothergirlhad
writtentoher.“Theycrieda greatdeal,”she
recalls.TheytoldAikoitwasa phaseand
forbadeherfromgoingoutatnight.When
shemovedawaytocollege,theytoldher
nottocomehomeifshewasgoingtotalk
aboutherfeelings.Shefeareda lonelylife.
Japanhasyettolegalisegaymarriage,
leavingit outofstepwithallotherg7 coun­
triesandevenaformercolony,Taiwan,
whichdid soin2019.The oecd, a club
mostly  of  rich  countries,  ranks  Japan
ahead  only  of  Turkey  among  its  38  mem­
bers  for  legal  protections  for  lgbtrights.
Activists  looked  to  the  Tokyo  Olympics  to
spur  change—the  Olympic  charter,  after
all, forbids discrimination of any kind. 
Yet  a  relatively  tame  bill  declaring  dis­
crimination against lgbtindividuals “un­
acceptable” faltered in the spring. Over the
summer conservatives in the ruling Liberal
Democratic Party (ldp) blocked even a wa­
tered­down version which pledged to “pro­
mote  understanding  of  lgbtpeople”.  One
ldplegislator reportedly said that gay and
transgender people “go against the preser­
vation  of  the  species”.  Two  candidates  in
the  race  this  autumn  to  lead  the  ldp(and
become  prime  minister)  expressed  open­
ness  to  same­sex  marriage,  but  the  party
chose Kishida Fumio, who opposes it. 
For  all  the ldp’s  backwardness,  atti­
tudes  have  shifted  drastically  in  recent
years: today some 65% of Japanese approve
of  same­sex  marriage,  up  from  around
40%  in  2015.  Even  a  majority  of  ldpsup­
porters are now in favour. Pride parades in
Japan once struggled to draw crowds; now
they  have  corporate  sponsors.  Since  2015
some 130 municipalities representing over
40%  of  the  population  have  introduced
systems  to  recognise  same­sex  partner­
ships.  This  March,  in  an  important  sym­
bolic victory for Aiko and her partner of 14
years,  a  district  court  in  Sapporo  declared
the prohibition on gay marriage unconsti­
tutional.  Judgments  in  similar  cases  in
four other cities are due this year or next.
For  much  of  Japanese  history,  sexual
and gender mores were more fluid. Samu­
rai were known to take younger male lov­
ers. Traditional Japanese theatre, from noh
to kabuki, features cross­dressing perform­
ers;  shunga,  a  genre  of  erotic  woodblock
prints, teems with all manner of sexuality.
Anti­gay  sentiment  is  in  contrast  a  rela­

tivelymodernimport from the West. 

But  it  has  become  a  strong  social  con­

vention, making life hard for those who do

not  conform.  In  workplaces,  colleagues

make demeaning jokes. Like many gay and

transgender  Japanese,  Aiko's  partner  has

not come out to her colleagues. In schools,

gay children are often bullied. When Aiko

and  her  partner  bought  an  apartment  last

year, they could not find a bank to issue a

mortgage to same­sex partners.

Yet  several  forces  favour  change.  Sup­

port  for  same­sex  marriage  is  very  strong

among Japanese in their 20s and 30s; more

than 80% back it. Kawaguchi Kazuya of Hi­

roshima  Shudo  University  says  that  por­

trayals  of  gay  life  on  Japanese  television

and  film  have  shifted  from  erotic,  seedy

dramas in the early 1990s to more “whole­

some” images, as epitomised by a hit com­

edy series about a gay couple, “Kino nani ta-

beta?”  (“What  did  you  eat  yesterday?”).

More  Japanese  firms  now  see  protecting

lgbt rights as a step that will “enhance, not

reduce economic power”, says Yanagisawa

Masa of Goldman Sachs in Japan. 

Finally, progress elsewhere—especially

in Taiwan—is expanding the boundaries of

the  possible.  Taiwanese  activists’  use  of

courts  to  put  pressure  on  legislators  in­

spired the lawyers of Japan’s “Marriage for

All”  movement,  says  Takeharu  Kato,  who

represented Aiko in Sapporo. 

Although  local  courts  cannot  force  a

change in national laws, “we hope the local

verdicts will push the Diet,” says Mr Take­

haru. If it does not act, the lawyers plan to

appeal  up  to  the  Supreme  Court,  which

could eventually force the Diet to legislate.

In  the  meantime,  the  verdicts  offer  sym­

bolic  succour.  Hearing  the  court  declare

the prohibition on gay marriage unconsti­

tutional was “almost like a dream for me”,

Aiko  says.  The  case  even  helpedswayher

parents. Now, she says, “they wantmetobe

able to be happy and to die happy”. n

S APPORO AND TOKYO
Support for gay rights in Japan is
gaining momentum

Amodest cheer