Chair of the Global Equality Caucus, Nick Herbert MP, has met with conservative parliamentarians in Japan and the Czech Republic to share his experiences campaigning for equal marriage.

Nick, a Conservative Member of the UK Parliament who is also the Chair of the UK All-Party Group on Global LGBT+ Rights, was the founder of the Freedom to Marry campaign when the UK Government announced in 2012 its intention to legalise same-sex marriage.

The successful campaign, which saw civil marriage rights extended to all couples in England & Wales in 2013 and followed by similar legislation in Scotland, also gave religious institutions the freedom to choose whether to offer same-sex ceremonies with no obligation to opt-in.

Upholding this principle of religious freedom was just one of the points raised when Nick met with other conservative politicians involved in similar campaigns in their countries.

As part of the Global Equality Caucus’s Asia-Pacific regional launch in Tokyo, Nick visited Pride House Tokyo, a pop-up information centre that is promoting understanding on LGBT+ and minority rights ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. At Pride House he met with Senator Masako Mori, a new member of the Global Equality Caucus and a legislator from the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), who indicated her support for extending legal recognition to same-sex couples in Japan. Read more via Equality Caucus