Category: Blog

“7 billion people, rainbow!” “Male and female, rainbow!” “Gloomy and cheerful, rainbow!” “Niche and major, rainbow!” “Love comes in all colors, Rainbow!” So begins RAINBOW~Because I’m Me~ (RAINBOW～私は私やねんから〜), released on May 10th by Japanese idol group Tacoyaki Rainbow.

Over the past few years, the amount of information in Japanese about LGBT related topics in Japan has exploded, with internet resources being no exception. While some of the biggest news stories can be found simply by plugging ‘LGBT’ or other related keywords into Japanese search engines, today I’d like to introduce some interesting and useful resources that I consistently check up➡︎

Google Japan made a bold move during NHK’s annual Year-end Song Festival (紅白歌合戦), airing a commercial that featured, among others, a gay man. The Year-end Song Festival is aired every New Year’s Eve from 19:15~23:45 and is watched by millions across Japan.

On December 14, Google revealed its annual Year in Search, shining a light on the most popular search queries of 2016. The breakout searches were to be expected: Pokemon GO, the summer hit game that requires no introduction. Olympic, referring to both the Rio Summer Olympics and the excitement (and drama) surrounding Tokyo 2020. And SMAP, the “Johnny’s idol” group that will dissolve➡︎

Yodogawa Ward in Osaka City is unique in that it became the first municipality in Japan to declare support for LGBT individuals back in 2013. And according to a recent article published by the Japan Times, it appears that Yodogawa Ward is positioned as a municipal model on LGBT rights due to the various ways in which the local government➡︎

On October 11th, Huffington Post Japan revealed the results of a survey of LGBT job seekers and transferees regarding issues they’ve faced on the job or while job hunting. I’ve translated the list below, so let’s take a look.