Japan

Global News

Added on: 01/28/2022

First non-binary Winter Olympian challenges ice skating stereotypes

01/21/2022

LONDON, Jan 21 (Openly) – When Timothy LeDuc takes to the ice in Beijing as the first openly non-binary Winter Olympian, the figure skater aims to challenge…

Global News

Added on: 01/11/2022

Tokyo same-sex partner plans highlight road ahead for LGBTQ rights.

01/10/2022

Many welcomed Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike’s recent announcement that a same-sex partnership system would be introduced for all of Tokyo in fiscal 2022. But some LGBTQ activists…

Global News

Added on: 01/07/2022

Transgender woman referred to prosecutors for using Osaka ladies room

01/06/2022

A transgender woman was referred to prosecutors Thursday for suspected trespassing after using the ladies room in a commercial facility in Osaka, in a case an expert…

Global News

Added on: 12/27/2021

Nearly all Japan’s school boards scrap gender field on applications

12/26/2021

As of Sunday, students applying to enter public high schools from next spring will no longer be required to specify their gender on the application form in…

Global News

Added on: 12/20/2021

Two Japanese LGBTQ rights activists of different faiths find common ground

12/19/2021

Buddhist monk Kodo Nishimura and Christian pastor Yoshiki Nakamura share a belief that LGBTQ lifestyles and organized religion can coexist, even when Japanese society makes people believe that…

Global News

Added on: 12/08/2021

Tokyo governor plans to introduce de facto same-sex marriage next year

12/07/2021

Tokyo Metropolitan government will start a system that effectively allows same-sex marriage in Japan’s capital in the next fiscal year from April, Japan’s Kyodo news wire reported…

Global News

Added on: 10/19/2021

Japanese TV Drama’s Gay Character Sign of LGBTQ Acceptance or Just Opportunism?

10/18/2021

The recent Tokyo Olympics offered hopes of Japan adopting more nuanced and inclusive views of LGBTQ lifestyles and challenges. As an example, 2018 saw the first-ever openly…

Global News

Added on: 10/13/2021

Trans Man Fights Japan’s Sterilization Requirement

10/12/2021

A Japanese transgender man, Gen Suzuki, 46, has filed a court request to have his legal gender recognized as male without undergoing sterilization surgery as prescribed by…

Global News

Added on: 09/29/2021

Japan’s new prime minister could herald a ‘historic moment’ for LGBT+ rights

09/28/2021

Japan is about to get a new prime minister – and two candidates in particular have the potential to transform LGBT+ rights, including same-sex marriage. After the…

Global News

Added on: 09/15/2021

Harassment led transgender nurse to develop health issues

09/13/2021

A labor ministry office in Ibaraki, Osaka Prefecture, concluded that a transgender hospital worker’s mental health issues were the result of months of being misgendered by other…

Global News

Added on: 08/14/2021

LGBTQ stars grabbed spotlight at Olympics, but Japanese athletes remained hidden

8/13/21

If LGBTQ athletes at the Tokyo Olympics were their own country, they would have been in the top 10 on the medal table. Around 180 athletes at…

Global News

Added on: 08/08/2021

‘Team LGBTQ’ earns 32 medals at Tokyo Olympics

8/8/21

As the torch goes out at Japan National Stadium in Meiji-Jingu Park, the end has arrived for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games— dubbed “the rainbow Olympics” by…

Global News

Added on: 08/08/2021

British diver Tom Daley says sports has ‘a lot further to go’ on LGBTQ acceptance

8/7/21

British diver Tom Daley says he is proud to be able to inspire other people as an openly gay athlete, but he is quick to add that…

Global News

Added on: 08/06/2021

IOC Investigates Anti-LGBT Slurs Against Olympic Athletes on Russian TV

08/06/2021

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is investigating two Russian state-run TV channels over talk shows that disparaged the lifestyles of a transgender and a gay athlete as…

Global News

Added on: 07/29/2021

‘About time’: LGBTQ Olympic athletes unleash a rainbow wave

07/27/2021

TOKYO (AP) — When Olympic diver Tom Daley announced in 2013 that he was dating a man and “couldn’t be happier,” his coming out was an act…

Global News

Added on: 07/23/2021

False start for intersex athletes barred from Olympics

07/22/2021

When the world’s fastest women race for gold over 800m in Tokyo, all three medallists from the 2016 Olympics will be absent – barred as intersex athletes…

Global News

Added on: 07/19/2021

Japan: Prime Minister Should Back LGBT Equality Act

07/18/2021

(Tokyo) – The Japanese government’s failure to pass a national nondiscrimination law to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people before the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and…

Global News

Added on: 07/16/2021

Here are 3 Olympic couples who will be competing on the same team in Tokyo

07/15/2021

A record number of out LGBTQ athletes are heading to Tokyo, and naturally, that means several Olympic couples will be making the trip together. We’ve seen same-sex…

Global News

Added on: 07/16/2021

These 15 Historical Examples Of LGBTQ Culture Around The World You Might Not Have Known About

07/13/2021

Nonbinary Vikings – Viking imagery in contemporary culture is heavily associated with stereotypes surrounding masculinity; long-haired, heavily muscled warriors are used to sell everything from beer to…

Global News

Added on: 07/08/2021

LGBT visibility grows in Japan ahead of ‘diversity’ Olympics

07/06/2021

Fumino Sugiyama, a former female fencer for the Japan women’s national team who came out as a man more than a decade ago, last week became the…

Global News

Added on: 06/26/2021

Japanese Olympic Committee names first transgender member

6/25/21

A transgender former fencer hailed a “massive change” in Japan’s LGBTQ awareness after being appointed to the Japanese Olympic Committee’s board of directors just weeks before the…

Global News

Added on: 06/16/2021

Japan Heads into ‘Diversity’ Olympics Without Promised LGBT Law

06/15/2021

Japan’s parliament ended its session without passing a promised law on LGBT understanding, failing to fulfill a ruling party pledge just as the country is set to…

Global News

Added on: 06/07/2021

Japanese LGBTQ groups and supporters stage rally in Tokyo, demand equal rights

06/06/2021

Japanese sexual minority groups and their supporters staged a rally outside Tokyo’s iconic Shibuya Station on Sunday calling for equal rights and public support for enacting a…

Global News

Added on: 05/29/2021

Japan ruling party abandons LGBT bill as consensus elusive

05/28/2021

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Friday gave up on legislation to promote public awareness of sexual minorities, proving unable to overcome opposition within its own ranks….

Global News

Added on: 05/26/2021

Japan: New Momentum to Reform Transgender Law

05/25/2021

Transgender people in Japan face continuing barriers to changing their legally recognized gender, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The Japanese government should heed…

Global News

Added on: 05/25/2021

Japanese politicians refuse to pass LGBTQ rights bill as Olympics approach

05/24/2021

Advocates around the world are calling foul on Japan, worrying that the country won’t meet their pledge to pass a LGBTQ rights law before hosting the Olympics…

Global News

Added on: 05/23/2021

Japanese Lawmaker Says LGBT Rights Go Against Preservation of Species Amid Record-Low Birth Rates

5/22/21

Japanese lawmaker Kazuo Yana of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has said that LGBT rights go against the preservation of species amid record-low birth rates in…

Global News

Added on: 05/20/2021

Japan LDP Puts Off LGBT Bill Approval amid Cautious View

05/20/2021

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday postponed approving a draft bill to promote understanding of sexual minorities as conservative members grew cautious about it. Their cautious…

World Voices

Added on: 05/14/2021

Haru Ono – Family Rainbow, Japan

Kate Efron and Manae Yamaguchi

Alturi Contributors

Thanks so much for joining us, Ms. Ono. I would like to begin by asking you, ‘‘How did you get involved in LGBTQ+ activism?’’ Could you please…

Global News

Added on: 05/12/2021

Japan’s Ruling Party LGBT Bill Falls Short

05/07/2021

Over the past six years, activists in Japan have pressed the Diet, the national parliament, to introduce a nondiscrimination law that protects the rights of lesbian, gay,…