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Notes -
Why is LGBTQ so important for liberals in terms of foreign policy?
For example, when debating Russia, arguments often amount to Russia is evil because they aren't onboard with pride. Russia isn't putting LGBTQAASASFDSFDSFDSFDSFSD people in concentration camps, they simply seem not to have pride flags while having a don't ask don't tell attitude. Why does that infuriate liberals that much?
Countries in the middle east can engage in all sorts of questionable behaviour but, often it is a lack of LGBTQ flags that infuriates the left. Again, they aren't mass-executing LGBTQ people or having concentrations camps, they simply don't celebrate it or want it rubbed in people's faces.
It seems like existence of pride parades seems to be a key benchmark for judging the moral virtue of a country. Why is this benchmark so central?
There are specific laws in place that prosecute "propaganda" of "LGBT" with the definitions of those terms being quite vague. Even if a conviction is not reached, as many mottizens have noticed, the process is the punishment. Especially when the process in question is the Russian jail (can't say anything about Middle East, but they're probably not very respectful and luxurious either).
Your flippant "they just don't want parades" comment shows either a lack of basic research, or more likely given your tenure in the community, deliberate downplaying.
I think more about Eastern (typically Asian countries that are too far north or east to be Muslim) cultures when I see this- they have a working system, but American progressives (and the progressives of old, now called traditionalists) don't know how it works/it doesn't play to their biases so they simply see an enemy to be destroyed.
Globohomo (and I mean that in both senses of the word) is just as much born of arrogance as Middle Eastern sexuality laws are.
There has been very limited attempts by American progressives to attack Japanese culture. There were coerced changes to Japanese culture immediately after WW2, but they were bipartisan (MacArthur was profoundly not a progressive - he would be fired by a Dem president for being based in an insubordinate way and would have been McCarthy's running mate if McCarthy had managed to run for president).
But since the end of the US occupation, the only attempt by US progressives to shame Japan for insufficient progressivism was when right-wing Japanese politicians started publicly paying respect to the memory of various controversial WW2-era Japanese leaders.
Despite having been consistently aware of the current thing since the 1990's, I don't know anything about the LGBXYZSNORE situation in Japan without looking it up, indicating that it has not been the current thing in my lifetime.
Interesting question - is this an unprincipled exception or is it just a case of Japanese internal affairs not being on the radar?
I suspect most internal affairs aren't actually on the radar.
Every now and then an issue bubbles up to the level of perception among the voter base. Some fraction of those make it through the social and political filters until "Something Has To Be Done." Then we might or might not spend diplomatic capital on doing that Something.
The temperature is lower for stable, allied nations like Japan. It's higher for suspected rivals. We have a long history of critiquing combloc countries for their freedom of expression, so it doesn't take much to get a Senator or newspaper bemoaning Russia's treatment of their dissidents--including anyone who uses a rainbow flag.
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