
The new ad will bring tears to your eyes while revealing some interesting statistics about Japanese society.
Sometimes ads have the power to play out like mini movies, touching our hearts with beautiful settings, familiar scenarios, and characters we can all relate to. Japan’s leading telecommunications provider, NTT DoCoMo, has just released a heartwarming new video containing all these elements, as part of its new “For ONEs” campaign that centres around the topic of diversity, showing how the many individual “ones” in Japan are all part of a larger plural that makes up the fabric of society.
▼ One in eight people are children.
▼ One in four are old.
▼ One in sixty are foreigners.
▼ And one in 13 are a member of a sexual minority.
With Japan still lagging behind much of the western world when it comes to recognising sexual minorities and gay rights, it’s this last mention that’s become a hot topic in Japan, as it features the real-life couple of Koyuki Azuma (pictured above right) and Yuko Masuhara (above left), two of the country’s most prominent LGBT rights activists.
The recent strides towards equality in Japan, with the issuing of same-sex partnership certificates by local governments, has received support from cellphone providers like NTT DoCoMo, with discounted plans being offered to cohabitating same-sex couples for quite some time. It’s heartwarming to see the company continuing to bring the topic of same-sex partnerships out from the shadows in Japan, particularly when one in 13 people across the country are part of a sexual minority.
It’s a great reminder that no matter how much we might feel like we’re alone in the world, we’re always part of a larger group that makes up a part of a wider society.
Source: Genxy
Images: YouTube/docomoOfficial





Japanese cell phone provider gives same-sex couples with Partnership Certificates family discount
Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward to offer marriage certificates to same-sex couples
Two Tokyo wards issue Japan’s first ever same-sex partnership certificates
Japanese gay community at the centre of new “Tokyo Neighbors” web series 【Video】
Japanese telecommunications company KDDI to extend “family discount” to same-sex couples
Standing sleeping pods coming to Tokyo cafe, promise to relieve fatigue and stress【Pics】
Human hair from India helps make Japanese buses more efficient
Studio Ghibli releases new plush toy backpacks for adults and children
Japanese candy Hi-Chew says a heartfelt, ridiculous goodbye as it retires Green Apple flavor【Vid】
Prototype snacks One Hand On available in beef bowl and soba restaurant curry flavor【Taste Test】
Stunning Japanese restaurant is like eating in a samurai residence
Giant Pokémon appear in Yokohama sky in awesome drone art show at World Championships【Pics, vids】
Totoro, Soot Sprites ready to head outdoors with you in new Ghibli/Outdoor Products bag collab
Spirited Away bathhouse spirits become self-righting dolls in new Studio Ghibli collection
Restaurant Yoshibei is crazy in the best way: A pork cutlet set with a side of pork cutlet bowl
Pokémon card shop in Osaka says it will refuse to buy cards from any Vietnamese people
Tokyo’s most famous video rental shop is shutting down
The massive Pokémon card public art display going on in Japan right now is a thing of beauty【Pics】
Maybe Japanese pilgrims were right about beating the heat all along
24 Sweets Shop: New unstaffed store specialising in trendy Japanese sweets opens in Tokyo
Mountain Dew opening the Mountain De Yu public bath house in Tokyo for Mountain Day
Sales of Japan’s most convenient train ticket/shopping payment cards suspended indefinitely
Levi’s x Studio Ghibli Princess Mononoke collection includes jeans, overalls and kimono jackets
Japan’s new Spacia X train is like travelling in a luxury aircraft
Studio Ghibli perfumes capture the magic of three anime films
Studio Ghibli’s new Kiki’s Delivery Service Tomica makes us rethink toy cars
Pokémon Center megastores give you 3 cool birthday bonuses if you shop during your birthday month
Reflecting on an old red-light district in Tokyo as another landmark closes its doors forever
Manga artist wants Japanese teachers to feel, for two seconds, how dumb their girls’ dress code is
Travelling to Japan soon? Beware the “Three Small Hells” awaiting tourists upon arrival
Japan ends travel ban on individual tourists, waives visa requirements for certain countries
One Piece’s Luffy spent years of manga’s publication without saying a word to one of his nakama
Pokémon Center apologizes for writing model Nicole Fujita’s name as Nicole Fujita
New Studio Ghibli humidifiers breathe anime magic into your home
Message to foreigners at Japanese convenience store sparks controversy online
Image-generating AI’s picture of “Final Fantasy VII Cloud” is so wrong, yet so right
One Piece characters’ nationalities revealed, but fans have mixed opinions
Kirin beer company toasts same-sex marriages for its employees
Same-sex couples take Japanese government to court, request constitutional marriage rights
Same-sex couples to be recognized in Sapporo, Japanese city with population of around two million
Indian apparel company’s ad is making waves for being the first ever to feature a lesbian couple
Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward to begin legally recognizing same-sex partnerships
Taiwan’s capital city begins registration of same-sex partnerships
Same-sex prostitution business technically legal in Japan, goes untouched by police
Commercial reveals what some LGBT individuals go through in Japan
Equal Wedding Japan: Traditional Japanese-style wedding ceremonies tailored for same-sex couples
Nintendo Japan officially provides spousal benefits to same-sex partnerships
Japan’s largest housing website to offer LGBT support in finding tolerant landlords
Gay wedding at Tokyo Disney Resort inspires manga
Japan government hard at work trying to prevent Shibuya Ward approving same-sex marriages
Historic Kyoto temple first in Japan to offer gay weddings
Takarazuka becomes fourth Japanese municipality to recognize same-sex partnerships
Leave a Reply