"I hope to continue until I see the day that we look back and say, 'This is a historic day in the history of sexual minorities,'" Otsuji told supporters. "We will remember this day because it is the day we grew stronger."

Otsuji had visited Buffalo in 2006 as part of a International Visitor Leadership Program of the US Department of State. As part of her tour she had met with a diverse group of Western New York gay and lesbian people who shared with her their experiences living as openly glbt people and community.

Gay life in Japan is markedly different than in the United States. Very few gay people are "out" and Otsuji is is a former member of the Osaka Prefectural Assembly in Japan. Otsuji is the only openly gay or lesbian ever to have been elected to public office in Japan —Staff