AOC rebuked for 'demanding' Japan 'embrace LGBTQ alphabet wokeness' during controversial Asia trip
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., advised that Japan shape up on ‘LGBT protections’ in a nearly 40-minute-long Instagram video and accused the government of being 'very discriminatory.'
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is coming under fire after she called out Japan for not being tolerant enough during a congressional trip to Asia.
Ocasio-Cortez targeted Japan in an almost 40-minute-long Instagram video, during which she said that she was shocked at "very discriminatory" comments from a member of the Japanese government on the LGBT community.
"There was a member of the Japanese administration that was caught in off-the-record comments making very discriminatory statements about LGBT people," she explained in an Instagram video that she streamed live on Monday.
"It is quite shocking, I think it's fair to characterize this as [a] pretty shocking development," Ocasio-Cortez added.
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"It is our view that marriage equality and LGBT protections being enacted in Japan would [play] a very strong and important role in U.S. and Japan relations," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said Monday. ( ANDREW HARNIK/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
"It is our view that marriage equality and LGBT protections being enacted in Japan would [play] a very strong and important role in U.S. and Japan relations," the congresswoman said.
But political commentators and journalists did not take kindly to Ocasio-Cortez advising Japan on how to conduct its affairs.
Political commentator Ian Miles Cheong summed up the congresswoman’s visit in a tweet: "AOC is currently in Japan demanding that their government embrace LGBTQ alphabet wokeness, or else."
"Japan’s internal affairs are none of AOC’s business," journalist Sameera Khan fired back, sharing headlines from Time and Bloomberg News on the controversial trip.
One user agreed, advising that Ocasio-Cortez to stick to American politics: "[K]ind of a far out concept, but how bout we focus on America."
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"Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other Democrats urge Japan to advance LGBT rights," Time headlined. "Ocasio-Cortez says it’s ‘critical’ Japan moves forward with LGBTQ rights," Bloomberg wrote.
"Japan is the only member of the G-7 that does not have marriage equality and LGBT anti-discrimination equality protections in place," Ocasio-Cortez told her over 8.6 million followers on Instagram.
The original video she posted to Instagram has already received over 520,000 likes.
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez discusses the LGBT "scandal" in Japan in an Instagram video. (Screenshot / Instagram)
"The more we can all share our values across countries, the more we can cooperate," Ocasio-Cortez said of the U.S. and Japan.
She also emphasized the importance of "women’s rights and LGBT, trans rights and marriage equality" not just in Japan, but "across borders" as well.
Ocasio-Cortez also raised eyebrows when she visited the nuclear accident site in Fukushima, Japan, sharing her thoughts about the experience in a number of lengthy Instagram stories.
"For me, understanding + studying the science and scale of radiation puts me more at ease. More information makes me feel better. But that might not be the case for everyone," Ocasio-Cortez wrote on her trip to Fukushima.
One Twitter user focused on energy policy called it a "[m]assive cultural shift" in the favor of nuclear energy.
"She has 9 million followers, many of whom are young women," he added.
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Ocasio-Cortez, an avid environmentalist, said in 2019 that her "Green New Deal" plan "leaves the door open on nuclear so that we can have that conversation." (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
"I don’t take a strong anti- or pro- position on it," Ocasio-Cortez said on nuclear energy in 2019, according to the Morning Consult.
The congresswoman, an avid environmentalist, reportedly said at the time that her "Green New Deal" plan "leaves the door open on nuclear so that we can have that conversation."
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.