GEORGE TAKEI SEES GAY PRIDE BEGINNING IN JAPAN

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_JAPAN_PEOPLE_GEORGE_TAKEI?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-06-05-06-21-13

TOKYO (AP) -- George Takei said he needed courage and anger to come out as gay and to join the equal rights movement for sexual minorities in the U.S., and he hopes his Japanese counterparts will do the same to make their society more equal.

Takei said he has noticed a movement beginning in Japan, though the country of his ancestry still has a long way to go. He said Japanese people need to fight for their own rights and they need to be angry, too.

The "Star Trek" actor also known for his gay rights activism spoke Thursday at a U.S. Embassy-sponsored talk, held at American Center in Tokyo, where about 100 people gathered.

Takei, 77, is in Japan to attend embassy-organized events marking Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month in the U.S.