We want to introduce the work of Masaki C Matsumoto, a queer activist, feminist, and YouTuber working hard to challenge stereotypes about sexual minorities in Japan.
As he (perhaps provocatively) says:
“Hate crime is nonexistent in Japan,” “Japan only recently started having pride marches,” “homosexuality is accepted in Japan because of the traditional male-male shudo sexual/romantic culture,” “Japanese media are LGBT-friendly,” and “Taiga Ishikawa is the first openly gay politician in Japan” are all false!
In general, Matsumoto’s main point — and it’s a good one — is that LGBTQ+ is a broad label and covers a very diverse demographic, including in Japan. Far too much coverage of Japan’s LGBTQ+ scene and issues has tended to fall back on perceived ideas without adequate researching the context.
At Tokyo Kinky we may also have been guilty of that at times, though this is due to ignorance of the complexities of the scene and its history in Japan. We very much hope to improve by following the work of Matsumoto.
Matsumoto has a nice blog in English called Gimme A Queer Eye on which he examines LGBTQ+ issues.
Matsumoto doesn’t use his legal name online, though he does work as an activist with it. According to his official profile, he is “a freelance writer and bar owner from Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, currently residing in Tatebayashi, Gunma Prefecture.”
For a more in-depth interview, we recommend you check out this article on Anime Feminist. For some background, you could also read this write-up on Matsumoto on Global Voices.
