Why this New Zealand politician’s speech from 2013 has gone viral in Japan

Words can wield power for a long time after they’ve been spoken.

A speech regarding same-sex marriage made by former New Zealand National MP Maurice Williamson has found popularity four years after it was delivered, as a rational rallying cry for marriage equality in Japan.

A clip of Williamson’s speech has now gone viral in Japan with over 170,000 retweets at the time of writing, picked up by BuzzFeed.

So, why now? The Twitter video was posted as a direct response to remarks made by the General Council Chairman of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party, Wataru Takeshita. He was widely criticised for recently saying that he was “opposed” to the idea that state guests’ same-sex partners should be invited to events hosted by Empress Michiko and Emperor Akihito. Read more…

More about Japan, New Zealand, Marriage Equality, Same Sex Marriage, and Speech