A longstanding magazine was closed after publishing a series of outrageous homophobic articles.
Publishers of the 33-year-old magazine, Shincho 45 made a decision to close the magazine after a series of homophobic articles, Queerty is reporting.
It all started in August when Mio Sugita, a junior lawmaker in the ruling party, the Liberal Democrat Party made a series of claims stating that same-sex couples were “unproductive” and shouldn’t be able to claim benefits.
In this instance, it’s thought that by “unproductive” she meant couples unable to conceive a child.
It caused a huge upset. Even the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is childless, warned that Sugita should be “more mindful of her words.”
The publisher’s own president Takanobu Sato said that the article showed “outrageous prejudice” towards gay couples.
In its next issue, Shincho 45 cemented its future by publishing a further SEVEN articles defending Sugita’s original article.
In one of these articles, gay and bisexual men were referred to as SMAG – sadist, masochist, ass fetish, and groper.
Following the publication, the publisher released a statement saying, “It is undeniable that our editing of articles and scrutiny of feature series in the pipeline has grown perfunctory over the years as we struggle with the magazine’s dwindling circulation and numerous trials and errors
“We both thank and apologize to our readers and all parties concerned for their support and cooperation over the years”.
The magazine was closed shortly after.
So long, farewell.
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