Articles Drag japan Jill Tokuda LGBTQ+ Long Reads News Nightlife Originals Queer nightlife Sex tokyo

Tokyo’s queer club scene is sweaty, messy and surrounding you at all sides

From sweaty techno parties to late-night drag showcases, Kat Joplin explores how the city’s growing LGBTQIA+ district is creating space for trans and non-binary communities. WORDS BY KAT JOPLIN HEADER DESIGN BY ANISA CLEAVER The Shibuya club is small but packed with life. Rotating beams of coloured lights overhead, shivering curtains of blue and green hair on the dance floor. Stick-and-poke and abstract tattoos, heavy eyeliner, lipstick in shades of pink and turquoise. Loud conversations shouted over the techno: Japanese, Portuguese, English, and more. Barely visible in the flashing lights,…

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Articles LGBTQ+ News Life News Nightlife Openly tokyo

Tokyo’s Ni-Chome LGBTQ+ area sees surge to open new bars

Melvin Muranaka long wanted to open a bar in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ni-chome LGBTQIA+ district, where he first felt free to be himself as a gay man, and with the ebbing of the coronavirus pandemic he thought his chance had come. “I had a really strong image I was living in hiding, but when I came to Ni-chome the impression was that everyone was drinking and having fun just as they were,” said the 29-year-old Muranaka, who is half Filipino. “It showed that I could really be myself too – which…

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Articles Gay marriage japan LGBTQ+ marriage LGBTQ+ News Life Marriage News same-sex Same-sex marriage tokyo

Tokyo to recognise same-sex unions, but not as equivalent to marriage

Tokyo will soon recognise same-sex partnerships, though the move does not give couples the same rights that married couples get in Japan. The city’s government announced the draft plan on 10 May, with couples eligible to register for certificates recognising their partnerships from October. Applicants will be limited to residents of Tokyo, which includes foreign nationals living there. The intention is “to promote understanding among Tokyo residents about sexual diversity and to reduce inconveniences in daily lives surrounding sexual minorities in order to create more pleasant living conditions for them,”…

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Anti-LGBTQ discrimination Articles japan LGBTQ Rights LGBTQ+ equality LGBTQ+ News Life Marriage News Same Sex Union same-sex Same-sex marriage tokyo

Tokyo to recognise same-sex partnerships in huge step towards equality

Tokyo will soon recognise same-sex partnerships, making it the largest Japanese city to do so. The reforms will come into effect from April 2022, though it remains unclear if it will give gay couples the same rights that married couples get in the country. The city’s governor, Yuriko Koike, explained that Tokyo would implement a system that would recognise gay partnerships as equal to marriage after the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly unanimously agreed that it was time for recognition. On 7 December, Koike said: “In response to the wishes of Tokyo…

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anti-LGBTQ+ slurs Articles F-slur Fabio Fognini Italian tennis player Life News Olympics tennis tokyo Tokyo Olympics

Tennis player who used anti-LGBTQ+ slur in Tokyo returns to court in rainbow gear

Italian tennis player Fabio Fognini wore rainbow-coloured sweat gear for his first return to the court since he yelled an anti-LGBTQ+ slur at the Tokyo Olympics. Fognini took to the court for his first-round match at the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) 1000 event in Toronto on Monday (9 August). He took to the court wearing a rainbow-striped headband and matching sweatbands on both wrists. The world number 36 was victorious in a three-set game against Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff just weeks after his dramatic and profanity-laden third-round loss at the…

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2020 Olympics Articles Canada LGBTQ+ Community Life News Olympics Quinn Sweden tokyo Tokyo Olympics

Quinn becomes first openly trans athlete to win gold at the Olympics

History has been made at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games once again! Following Canada’s win over Sweden in the final women’s football match of the competition, Quinn has become the first openly transgender athlete to win gold at an Olympic Games. It was a close match between the two nations with the score being 1-1 after extra time and the decider coming down to a penalty shootout. Sweden will go home with a silver medal, while Team USA has won bronze. Although Quinn – who uses they/them pronouns – won…

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