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At 8 pm on Tuesday, June 14, dozens of LGBT men and women assembled in a small neighborhood park in Shinjuku, Tokyo, to remember and mourn those murdered at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday.

Participants included a lot of people who, like me, came alone, drawn by the need for community in the face of one of history's most harrowing reminders that homophobia kills.

By 8:30 pm, the few dozen had grown to several dozen. Commemorative posters were drawn up, rainbow flags readied, and candles passed around and lit. Fortunately what had become an overcast sky by evening did not turn to rain, although gusts of wind did make keeping the candle alight difficult at times.

The names of the victims of the massacre were read out by one of the organizers - feelings of grief evident both in his delivery and the wordless voices of those listening -  followed by a minute's silence.
The press presence was evident, if not overwhelming, with at least a reporter from the Japan Times, one or two photographers, and a TV camera emblazoned with "Reuters."

During the preparations in the park, numbers swelled to the point where - another vigil participant told me - the organizers posted on Facebook that the upper limit for staging a march had been reached, and no more people could join.

The march around the neighborhood was subdued and respectful. Being nighttime, passersby were relatively few - but our presence on the streets of the city...