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gay marriage

Japanese gay community at the centre of new “Tokyo Neighbors” web series 【Video】

The webisodes explore what it’s like to be gay in Japan.

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Okinawa’s capital city Naha officially recognizes same-sex partnerships

Colorful, tropical Okinawa just got even more rainbow-friendly.

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Takarazuka becomes fourth Japanese municipality to recognize same-sex partnerships

Love wins, one city office at a time.
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Japan releases results of its first national same-sex marriage survey

On November 28, the results of Japan’s first national survey about attitudes toward gay marriage were revealed. What kind of image did they paint of the people of Japan?

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Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward to begin legally recognizing same-sex partnerships

In a landmark move last February, Shibuya Ward in Tokyo announced it would begin legally officiating same-sex partnerships, giving gay couples the same rights as married heterosexual couples. While the movement, set to begin in October this year, has received some scrutiny, it has also seen plenty of support.

Now, in what may be the beginning of a domino effect, one of Shibuya’s neighboring wards, Setagaya, has also announced that it will be offering the same legal recognition to same-sex couples, beginning this November.

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Seven things we’ve learned from Haruki Murakami’s quirky “ask me anything” project

Back in January, author Haruki Murakami launched his very own agony uncle website, inviting questions from readers on a range of topics from relationship advice to questions about cats to his favourite baseball team, the Yakult Swallows.

In just two weeks, the website Murakami-san no Tokoro (“Mr. Murakami’s Place”) received over 30,000 questions from readers keen to hear the celebrated author’s answers to their burning questions. And since the end of January, Murakami has been diligently answering those questions, sometimes replying to more than 30 queries a day.

As the project draws to a close, we look back on what we’ve learned from Murakami’s musings, from pragmatic advice to a would-be writer to the author’s thoughts on the afterlife, gay marriage, and anthropomorphic fantasies.

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Tokyo Disneyland (TDL) has recently announced that they will offer weddings for same-sex couples, including the option to hold the ceremony at the iconic Cinderella’s castle. It seems that Disney really does make dreams come true, at least for one gay couple. Read More