LGBT politicians seek more clout for sexual minorities in government Japanese LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) politicians are making a major push in public, and in secret, to give sexual minorities a bigger voice in government. Includes some information about Aya Kawakami, a transgender assembly member in Setagaya Ward in Tokyo. Asahi Shimbun, 3 Feb 2014. See Profile of Aya Kawakami in Japanese and English here.
Kesho Danshi: Visiting Yushima’s sublime transgender bars An article about Miya Inoue, the kimono-clad owner of the chain of bars in Tokyo’s Yushima neighborhood operating under the Kesho Danshi brand staffed primarily by transgender women. Rocket News 24, 28 July 2015.
Music was a haven for woman who lived as a man for eight decades Miyuki Yashiro, 89, who has always been a woman at heart, was biologically a man for most of her life (and served in the all-male Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War), until undergoing transgender surgery 11 years ago at age 78. Japan Times, 12 May 2015.
Transgender convict in Hokkaido asks to be treated as female inmate She has been living as a woman and wants to be supervised by female prison officers while continuing hormone treatment, a source close to her said Tuesday. Japan Times, 2 Aug 2017.
Transgender woman granted long-term residency in Japan A Southeast Asian woman has become the first transgender person to receive a long-term residential permit in Japan due to her same-sex partnership, according to her lawyer. Such visas are usually only given to foreign residents who are married to a Japanese person. CNN September 5, 2019.
Transgender man in Japan wants switch recognized without surgery This article is about Gen Suzuki, 46, who lives as a man but is listed as a woman in the family registry, and filed a request with the Shizuoka Family Court, insisting a person's own gender identity should be respected without the need for surgery. Kyodo News, 4 Oct, 2021.
パートナーシップ制度「”トランスジェンダー”の場合」 This article is a voice of transgender people who is auffering from the system of partnership system and marriage system in Japan. They are judged by theier 戸籍's gender and decided if they can recognized as a partener or not. NHKハートネット, 16 May 2018.
「生殖機能を失わないと性別を変えられない」日本の法律とトランスジェンダー This is a story about FtM person, 杉山文野. 杉山 san is sturuggling with the Japanese system that it is not allowed to change 戸籍's gender without losing their reproductiive function under the current Japanese law.
トランスジェンダーの卒業生が語る学校生活と思い出 都立荻窪高校が動画公開 This is a video of transgender student from 都立荻窪高校 talking about their experiences and toghts from their school life. 東京スクスク, 15 Jun, 2021.
「就活の面接で笑われた」トランスジェンダー当事者が語るLGBT平等法が必要な理由 This is a story about transgender "当事者" through job hunting and work. And their idea why LGBT平等法 (eaquality law for LGBT) is needed in Japan. Huffpost, 6 Feb, 2021.
‘Zero as You Are’: An intimate look at a journey of self-discovery A review of the documentary movie from 2020, 'Zero as You Are that follows Takamasa “Sky” Kobayashi over a period of nine years from adolescence to adulthood and through transitioning from female to male. Japan Times, 13 Aug 2020. See also New Documentary Highlights Trans Youth in Japan, Metropolis, 24 Jul 2020.
Transgender Life from Stonewall Japan, an organization that supports the Japanese LGBTQ community including The Stonewall Transgender Guide to Japan 2016 with information on legal issues, employment, medical Issues, and trans-specific differences between Japan and the West.
New Documentary Highlights Trans Youth in Japan, An article about a the film 'Zero as YOU Are' about the experiences of a young transgender man, Takamasa Kobayashi, who uses the name Konomi, as well as about the views of the film's Director, Miyuki Tokoi and the situation of transgender people in Japan. Metropolis, 24 Jul 2020.
Interview: The Invisible Struggle of Japan’s Transgender Population Kanae Doi of Human Rights Watch Japan tylaks about what life is like in Japan for translgender people, including the stiaution at work, the laws that affect them, the requirements to transition and the attitudes of people in Japan. Human Rights Watch, 19 Mar 2019.
Japan Times stories on 'Gender Identity Disorder'
『尊厳を傷つける法律』：性同一性障害者特例法における手術要件削除等の必要性 Short video in Japanese from Human Rights Watch Japan, 25 May 2021. See also this article: Japan: New Momentum to Reform Transgender Law - End Compulsory Sterilizations, ‘Mental Illness’ Diagnosis. Human Rights Watch Japan, 25 May 2021.
Rights group urges Japan to update law on changing gender This article is about the campaign by LGBTIQ activitists for an Equality Act that would include same-sex marriage as well as changes to 2004 law on gender transitioning in Japan, and about the Human Rights Watch Report on this issue - see above. Mainichi Shimbun, 26 Mar 2021.
People changing registered gender rising at record pace in Japan Looks at the number of people transitioning in Japan, since 2004, and also mentions the requirements for transitioning. Kyodo News, 3 Jan, 2021.
Global Call to Reform Japan’s Law on Transgender People: International Health Group Urges End to Forced Sterilization Requirement Human Rights Watch Japan, 12 Jun 2019.
“A Really High Hurdle” Japan’s Abusive Transgender Legal Recognition Process The procedure in Japan for changing an individual’s legal gender is regressive and harmful. It rests on an outdated and pejorative notion that a transgender identity is a mental health condition, and requires transgender people who want legal recognition to undergo lengthy, expensive, invasive, and irreversible medical procedures. Human Rights Watch, 19 Mar 2019.
More trans people are going to the doctors in Japan than ever before 46% more transgender people visited medical institutions in Japan. In total 22,435 transgender people had visited a medical institution in 2015. Gay Star News, 21 Mar 2017.
Japan's 2003 Gender Identity Disorder Act: The Sex Reassignment Surgery, No Marriage, and No Child Requirements as Perpetuations of Gender Norms in Japan An article article by Taniguchi Hiroyuki who graduated from Chuo University's faculty of law. It includes lots of references to sources of information in Japanese. Asia Pacific Law & Policy Journal, 2013.
Sex-change ops to be covered by public health insurance This article included a range of views and experiences of transgender people in Japan about allowing public health insurance to be used for sex change operations as well as about the process of sex change and gender reassignment itself. Asahi Shimbun, 30 Nov 2017.
Experts question legal requirement of surgery to change gender This article reports on a symposium held by the Japan Association of bar Associations and includes both the experiences of transgender people themselves and information about this issue in other countries. Kyodo News, 23 Sep 2017.
Japan Forces Sterilization on Transgender People: Government Shouldn’t Require Surgery for Rights Protection. Human Rights Watch, 29 Nov 2017. See this article in Japanese here: 日本でのトランスジェンダーへの不妊手術の強制 See also story below:
Japan urged to scrap law forcing transgender people to be sterilised before they can transition Rule requiring applicants to 'permanently lack functioning gonads' condemned by UN and WHO. Independent, 1 Dec 2017.
オネエ呼ばわり「不快」 テレビ番組、差別助長の恐れ An interview in Japanese with Mineko Nomachi, a writer and transgender woman who protested to Nippon TV when it featured her on a variety show and introduced her as an “onee talent" because she believes the word 'onee' is discriminatory and reductive. Mainichi Shinbun, 16 May 2016.
ジェンダー・セクシュアリティとキャンパスライフ できることガイド ｉｎ ＩＣＵ ”Gender, Sexuality, and Campus Life Vol.01, Possibilities Guide in ICU”, 8 Apr 2016, Both of Japanese and English Version included in the PDF.
ＩＣＵにおけるジェンダー・セクシュアリティ対応―トランスジェンダー学生対応の10年間とこれから
Is Japan ready to love a transgender lead character? Naoko Ogigami's gentle film 'Close-Knit' set to touch audiences' emotions Nikkei Asian Review, January 30, 2017.
学校教育におけるセクシュアル・マイノリティ ”Sexual minority at the school education”, 稲葉昭子, 創価大学文学部博士課程論文, 12 May 2017, The long report about the education at school for the sexual minority youth in Japan.
学校のありかたに関するもうひとつの考え方―トランスジェンダーの立場から― ”Another thinking style about the school from the transgender sight”, いつきサイト, The website made about the experiences and ideas from the transgender and other sexual minority people. There is some surveys and interviews about the school life, too. Main website contains full of interesting information to read, but don’t forget that this is one of the blogs.
子どものＬＧＢＴ 教育現場の対応は？, Ogi Naoki, NHK, 1 Oct 2015, A brief and easy ideas about changing some rules at schools for children with sexual minority.
教師が知っておきたいＬＧＢＴと子どもたちへの接し方 by 遠藤まめた(leader of Idaho-net), 教育Zine, 1 Jun 2017, written about the troubles children may have in the classrooms related with their sexual orientation.「やっぱ愛ダホ！idaho –net. 」
ちいさな声、社会にとどけ！This is the website of Kamikaya Aya, a member of Setagaya Council who was the first elected transgender local government representative in Japan. Includes her profile in Japanese and also in English.
世田谷区議会議員 上川あや プロフィール 性同一性障害であることを公表している世田谷区議会議員の上川あやさんのウェブサイト。彼女は書籍(変えてゆく勇気―「性同一性障害」の私から）も書いているので参考までに。
TSとTGを支える人々の会（TransNetJapan）1996年より活動を続けている、性同一性障害を持つ人々の自助・支援グループ。 当事者向けの勉強会や交流会、一般向けのシンポジウム開催や資料集の発行などを行なっています。
「性同一性障害」の受刑者はどう処遇されるべきか 弁護士ドットコムNEWS, July 26, 2015.
Schools in Japan to let transgender students use whichever locker room they prefer The Japan Times, 30th April 2015. And the similar article by International Business Times here( LGBT Students In Japan)
Japan court issues landmark ruling on transgender parent’s rights Japan’s Supreme Court this week ruled that a toddler born to a transgender man and his wife through artificial insemination shall be regarded as their legitimate child.LGBTQ Nation, 13 Dec 2013.
LGBT Students In Japan: Education Ministry Asks Schools To Let Transgender Children Use Preferred Bathrooms: Report An article on various recent government moves to encourage support for LGBT students in schools in Japan. International Business Times, 30 April 2015. See also this article about the same story in the Japan Times.
Japan’s Trans-Friendly Comic Book Revolution From Wandering Son to boys’ love, how manga is helping straight-laced Japan come to terms with LGBT rights. Foreign Policy, 30 Sep 2015.
Transgender convict in Hokkaido asks to be treated as female inmate She has been living as a woman and wants to be supervised by female prison officers while continuing hormone treatment, a source close to her said Tuesday. Japan Times, 2 Aug 2017.
Transgender Inmates in Japan: New Rules The country’s Justice Ministry in has issued a new guideline for handling prisoners with gender identity disorder that allows them to bathe alone and wear the underwear of the gender they identify with, sources said Saturday. Wiold Gender, 4 Mar 2012.
Japan’s women’s colleges grapple with shifting views on gender Schools see opportunity to re-examine their mission, but policy changes will likely be slow This is an article about discussions at women's universities in Japan about whether they should change their policies and allow transgender students to enter. Japan Times, 19 Sep 2017.
Japan baffled by the intricacies of LGBT issues An article which looks at coverage of transgender, as well as LGBT people in general, in the media in Japan and also at the treatment of gender diversity in schools in Japan. Japan Times, 4 Jun 2016.
「レインボーウィークに考える学校教育と性的マイノリティ〜遠藤まめた＆室井舞花ほか」A discussions with Mameta Endo, a transgender man, and Maika Muroi, a lesbian. The two author-activists talk about new teacher guidelines issued by the education ministry about how to help LGBT students. Though they think the guidelines are a positive step, they also find them limited in that they don’t take into consideration the fact that LGBT represents a wide spectrum of sexual orientations and gender identities, whereas Japan’s education system is built on a foundation of clear-cut gender distinction. TBSラジオ, 5 May 2016.
Why Transgender People In Japan Prefer To Be Told They Have A "Disorder" There’s a global push to remove “gender identity disorder” from the list of mental illnesses. But many transgender people in Japan aren't agreement with this idea with the idea. This article looks at the medicalisation of transgender identity in Japan and at whether it should be regarded as a disorder or not. It also provides an interesting history of the concept 'Gender identity Disorder in Japan. Buzzfeed, 7 Aug 2016.
From the stage to the clinic: changing transgender identities in post-war Japan by Mark McClelland. This academic paper looks at the transformation of male-to-female transgender identities in Japan since the Second World War. It considers the development of bars and clubs for transgender people, at the representation of transgender people in the media including the use of terms like 'okama' and 'nyuhafu' and at the resumption of 'sex change operations in Japan in 1998, reporting on both the positive aspects of this development and criticisms of the medicalisation of trans identities that this involves. University of Wollongong, 2014
Mr & Ms X: The Rights of Transgender Persons Globally This is a review of differnet legal issues for transgender people in various countries around the world. International Bar Association LGBTI Law Committee, 2014.
An insider’s guide to being transgender in prison Three openly transgender women have taken their own lives in custody in England over the past 18 months. Their deaths speak of the difficulties that transgender people face behind bars. Independent, 17 May 2017.
Strip-searched transgender woman granted right to challenge Hong Kong prison for treating her like a man South China Morning Post, 31 July 2015.
Tara Hudson: Transgender woman moved to women's prison following public outcry More than 150,000 people in the UK signed a petition urging authorities to send Hudson to a women's prison. Independent, 30 Oct 2015.
Transgender woman 'raped 2,000 times' in all-male prison 'It was hell on earth, it was as if I died and this was my punishment' A story about a transgender women placed in a male prison in Brisbane, Australia. Independent, 18 April 2016.
“U.S.Departments of Education and Justice Release Joint Guidance to Help Schools Ensure the Civil Rights of Transgender Students”. U.S. Department of Education, 13 May 2016,
“Examples of Policies and Emerging Practices for SupportingTransgender Students”, U.S. Department of Education, May 2016, There is the table of Contents (目次) on the fifth page.