Nearly 40% of sexual minorities in Japan have been sexually harassed or assaulted, according to a private survey involving more than 10,000 respondents. The survey of LGBT people, released Saturday, was conducted by Yasuharu Hidaka, a professor of social epidemiology at Takarazuka University.

Hidaka said many more cases likely go unreported, noting that LGBT people have sometimes been refused help by police or counseling centers. He also said there is a lack of proper support and understanding in the country for issues facing the LGBT community.

Tomoya Asanuma, a 31-year-old nurse, is among the people who have had a bad experience dealing with the police. About two years ago, Asanuma, a transgender man, was sexually assaulted by a man he had just become acquainted with. After being refused help by a sexual violence counseling center, he contacted police, but they refused to accept his report. Asanuma says the police did not expect a person such as himself — who has undergone sex reassignment surgery and changed their registered gender — to come forward.

"I was a victim of sexual assault but was hurt further because police didn't understand my own circumstance as a sexual minority person," Asanuma said.