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October 09, 2025
 

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LGBTQ

A couple poses with the rainbow flag, which they brought from their home for a wedding photoshoot in Tokyo in November 2023.
JAPAN
Oct 1, 2025
Same-sex partners recognized under more laws in Japan
However, the government maintains the position that same-sex partners are not covered by 120 laws and ordinances, including those related to taxes and social security.
The Sapporo Family Court on Friday ruled that a legal provision requiring individuals to undergo genital surgery to change their legal gender is unconstitutional and invalid.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 25, 2025
Court rules sex change appearance requirement unconstitutional
A court said that the world has made advances in medicine since the law was established, so genital surgery may not be necessary in some cases.
Gloria Tsang, a 33-year-old speech therapist, and her wife Jaedyn Yu, a 35-year-old drum school owner, walk on a pedestrian overpass in Hong Kong on Sept. 12.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 17, 2025
Hong Kong newlyweds lament veto on same-sex rights bill as blow to city
The same-sex bill represented an opportunity to implement what would have been a rare liberal shift in Hong Kong's legal landscape.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe stands on the track at the Diamond League Final in Zurich on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Aug 29, 2025
Sebastian Coe confident gene testing will be completed for Tokyo worlds
Athletes who arrive at the global event without being tested can complete the process in the Japanese capital.
Kardinia Park, home stadium of Australian Rules football team Geelong Cats, on Oct. 23, 2020
MORE SPORTS
Aug 22, 2025
AFL under fire as another player banned for homophobic slur
Adelaide Crows forward Izak Rankine became the sixth AFL player since April 2024 to be suspended for directing a homophobic slur at an opponent.
The U.S. State Department's 2024 Human Rights Report was delayed for months as appointees of President Donald Trump altered an earlier draft dramatically to bring it in line with "America First" values, according to government officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 13, 2025
U.S. State Department softens criticism of some countries in human rights report
The 2024 Human Rights Report's section on Israel was much shorter than last year's edition and made no mention of the severe humanitarian crisis or death toll in the Gaza Strip.
U.S. President Donald Trump (right) meets with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on April 14.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 7, 2025
U.S. to ease criticism of El Salvador, Israel and Russia, says report
The Trump administration has increasingly moved away from the traditional promotion of democracy and human rights.
Participants take part in the Pride March in Amsterdam on July 26.
WORLD / Society
Aug 4, 2025
Going Dutch: LGBTQ+ Americans find Trump-free life in Netherlands
In the face of rolled back rights, some LGBTQ+ people have voted with their feet.
Wakana, a Japanese fan of Thai BL, visits a temple in Thon Buri, Bangkok featured in the Thai adaptation of the Japanese series “Cherry Magic.” Her media consumption kindled an interest in Thai culture and language, and ultimately led her to relocate to Thailand. “I fell in love with the whole country,” she says.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Jul 28, 2025
Boys’ love dramas from Thailand make waves in Japan
Thailand has become a top producer of BL (boys’ love) dramas — and audiences in Japan are among the most ardent consumers.
A Beijing store selling merchandise based on the "boys’ love" genre of graphic novels on June 16
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jul 10, 2025
China detains female writers of 'boys' love' content in porn crackdown
The detentions since March have triggered debate on social media about the limits of free speech and the apparent sexist nature of the crackdown.
A person wears a mask depicting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on the back of the head during the Budapest Pride March on June 28.
WORLD / Society
Jul 7, 2025
Inside Budapest Pride: How organizers defied Orban's ban
The team behind the parade in Budapest went offline, meeting in private behind closed doors with everyone leaving their laptops and phones outside.
Akira Otani's genre-bending novel "The Night of Baba Yaga" takes place in Japan’s 1970s yakuza underworld and centers on the daughter of a mob boss and a ruthless martial arts fighter who serves as her bodyguard.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jul 4, 2025
Queer-coded yakuza story wins prestigious U.K. crime writing award
With “The Night of Baba Yaga,” Akira Otani is the first Japanese writer to win the Crime Writers’ Association Dagger Award for crime fiction in translation.
Pro-democracy activist Jimmy Sham speaks at a League of Social Democrats news conference at their headquarters in Hong Kong on June 29.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 3, 2025
Hong Kong proposes limited recognition of same-sex couples' rights
The move comes as the Hong Kong government seeks to comply with a landmark court ruling from September 2023.
About 41% of LGBTQ+ teens could not find people or places they could consult with about their struggles with gender identity or sexual orientation.
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2025
Over half of LGBTQ+ teens in Japan have considered suicide, survey finds
Of the 90% of junior high and high school students who said they had experienced harassment at school, 64% said such harassment came from teachers.
Kirsty Coventry, who will formally take over as the president of the International Olympic Committe on Monday, speaks during a news conference in Costa Navarino, Greece, in March.
OLYMPICS
Jun 21, 2025
As sports embrace gender tests, Coventry and IOC may follow
Such testing has its share of critics and the Olympics have already tried it once only to abandon it in 1996.
"In My Closet" by the artist Noumra is on display at Tokyu Plaza Harajuku's Harakado space until June 18.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 14, 2025
At Tokyo Pride’s first queer art exhibition, intimacy and resistance share the wall
A vibrant, community-sourced exhibition in Harajuku showcases queer art that spans the political, absurd and deeply personal.
Tokyo Rainbow Pride is wrapping up for the year, but a slew of events in cities all over the country, from Hokkaido to Kyushu, lies in store in the second half of 2025.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jun 12, 2025
The persistence of Pride: LGBTQ+ events in Tokyo and beyond
Pride isn’t just a one-off weekend — a slate of activities and programs in support of the queer community continues in full force, from Hokkaido to Kyushu.
June is Pride Month, which means it’s the perfect time to get acquainted with how sexual minorities have been represented in Japanese fiction if you’re not familiar with these narratives already.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 11, 2025
Pride and prose: Novels that illuminate queer lives in Japan
From Yukio Mishima and Haruki Murakami to Li Kotomi and Akira Otani, dive into Japanese fiction’s LGBTQ+ narratives in honor of Pride Month.
Akihiko Ogino, president and CEO of Daiwa Securities Group, says Japan should press ahead with diversity initiatives as he attends the Tokyo Pride parade in the capital's Shibuya area on Sunday.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2025
Top banker vows loyalty to DEI at Tokyo Pride Parade as Trump’s pushback rages
Few Japanese executives have spoken out on U.S. backlash to DEI, though many firms seem to be quietly maintaining their initiatives.
Since moving to Tokyo from New York City in 2014, Hiraku Morilla has been promoting Keith Haring’s legacy in his professional life and advocating for the LGBTQ+ community.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jun 6, 2025
Hiraku Morilla: ‘Pride means respect for those who walked so we could run’
The New York-raised director of the Nakamura Keith Haring Collection reflects on his queer, multiracial identity and LGBTQ+ rights in Japan.
How China waged an infowar against U.S. interests in the Philippines
Association for Philippines-China Understanding (APCU) Chairman Raul Lambino shakes hands with guests during a ceremony for the Award for Promoting Philippines-China Understanding at The Manila Hotel in Manila in June.
‘We have drawn lessons,’ Indian Army chief says of brief clash with Pakistan
Indian Army chief Upendra Dwivedi waves as he arrives to attend the ceremonial reception of Defense Minister Gen Nakatani in New Delhi in May.
Typhoon Halong to cause windstorms, heavy rain and high waves on the Izu islands
Typhoon Halong is moving north near the Izu Islands, with strong winds, high waves and heavy rain expected as it passes early on Thursday, prompting warnings from the weather agency.
Takaichi's leadership lineup favors Aso and his allies while shutting out rivals
The LDP's newly-appointed election chief Keiji Furuya (far left), general affairs council chair Haruko Arimura (second from left), vice president Taro Aso (center left), president Sanae Takaichi (center right), secretary-general Shunichi Suzuki (second from right) and policy chief Takayuki Kobayashi in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Qilin cybercrime gang claims hack on Japan's Asahi
The Asahi Group headquarters complex in Tokyo
OpenAI’s Sora 2 is drowning in Japanese 'AI slop'
OpenAI has rolled out a social app powered by Sora 2, its artificial intelligence video generator, which was quickly flooded with videos featuring iconic Japanese intellectual property.
Trump has his eyes on the prize — but a Nobel win looks unlikely
A protester holds a sign with an image depicting U.S. President Donald Trump and the words "Nobel" written on it, as supporters and family members of hostages who were kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, demonstrate to demand the immediate end of the war and the release of all hostages, outside the U.S. Consulate in Tel Aviv, on Sept. 2.
‘Takaichi trade’ stalls as political reality calls for wait-and-see approach
Tokyo stocks staged a powerful rally on Monday. On Tuesday, they rallied again, then retreated.
‘We have drawn lessons,’ Indian Army chief says of brief clash with Pakistan
Indian Army chief Upendra Dwivedi waves as he arrives to attend the ceremonial reception of Defense Minister Gen Nakatani in New Delhi in May.
How a family-run landscaper turned the Osaka Expo green
The team at Ryokukou Garden consists primarily of a single family, including Toshiki Tanisaki (second from right), who led the company's efforts at the Osaka Expo, Chikako Tanisaki (fifth from right), who performs daily maintanence at the expo, and Takeshi Tanisaki (fourth from right), who added a nursery to the family farm more than 50 years ago.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?
By Alex K.T. Martin

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