Transgender in Japan?

[vino]

hey hey
this isn't necessarily a topic i'm fond of talking about publicly, or at all, but i feel comfortable enough asking some questions here.
i'm transgender (ftm) and if you don't know what that means, then this topic won't have much meaning to you.
but on the off chance that someone has any information i do have questions, seeing as there's virtually nothing online, and the only decent resources i've found apply to natives, and not foreigners. 

first of all, i have the most obvious question.
is this heard of in japan, and how accepted is it, if at all?

my biggest concerns come from medical, legal and social standpoints-- which is basically.. well, all of the same concerns i have here as well. only i have the comfort of using a language i'm proficient in, and living within a culture i fully (at times) understand.

would someone in need of gender therapy and HRT (hormone replacement therapy) be able to access doctors and specialists willing to/or trained to handle these things?

what are the laws on name and gender changes in japan, and would it be possible to have those things handled there, or would this be a matter of dealing with the legal transition in your own country before moving to japan?

how socially acceptable is the concept of someone being a different gender from what they were assigned at first? definitely not asking about crossdressing, or any of the sort. 

along with that, i feel inclined to ask about LGBT representation in japan, and how acceptable queer folk are to japanese people, especially when it comes to foreigners.

if someone has any input, information, or really just anything to add, i would really appreciate it, if not just for my own personal reference, for the many people who are wondering these things and don't really know where to search.

[LittleGaijin]

Hey Vino! I can only tell you what I see and hear from my school over here in Tokyo, but there are quite a few transgender folks here. Problem is, they are some of the sweetest, kindest people I've ever met- and I know they brush off any and all negative experiences and hardly talk about them. But they always seem so happy here (more than anyone else!), and there's a well known district here in Tokyo for the gay and LGBT community and my friends go to the drag queen clubs there almost every other night. They always take pictures with famous Japanese drag queens and models and post them on facebook, and it really looks like they are worshiped haha. 

I once asked my friend about the general treatment he got from people back home in comparison to here, and he said that he's never been treated so well in his life until coming here. I think the gaijin and Japanese here aren't as shocked to see transgender people, and are a little more open towards people who are. This is Tokyo though, it might be a little different outside of Tokyo. I'm willing to bet that it is.

Sorry I don't have more to say about this, but this is a really interesting question and I'm really glad that you made a thread about it. If I see my friend around campus, I'll try to ask him some of these questions for you!

[Jembru]

I don't have any personal experience of transgender issues in Japan, but I was involved in the LGBT community when I first arrived there. I was there quite a long time ago now, and tokyo is changing a lot (like the recent legalization of same-sex marriage in Tokyo's gay district, which is a massive leap for Japan, that has always been a bit behind with socially accepting homosexuality). I didn't experience a same sex relationship while in Japan, on account of starting my first heterosexual relationship since discovering I was gay, just weeks before moving out there. When I first arrived in Japan I lived with an Australian girl and an American girl. The Australian was in a lesbian relationship with a Japanese girl, but the American was a very conservative Christian who hated my other roommate. Gosh, looking back that excuse for a human being was absolutely vile.. she would text me hateful messages like 'where I come from, my enemies are my friends enemies..' if I dared to sit with the Australian girl and her partner. I was pretty intimidated by the American, being new in Japan. So I ended up having to sneak around and hide both my religion (I'm pagan.. she'd have destroyed me for that), and my sexual history and lifestyle.

So yeah, in my case, being openly bisexual in Japan was hard outside of a few close work colleagues, and I only got to dip my toes into the gay scene a few times. What I did experience however, was a pretty accepting and friendly scene.

Have you checked out the videos by this guy; youtu.be/i9fZojLJDPY He is FTM transgender and half Japanese living in Japan. He was in the process of transition when he moved over there from the states, so is probably a good source of information for you. Maybe he is contactable too, so could answer your more specific questions.

I changed my name by deed by the way. From 'Gemma' to 'Jemma'. My birth certificate didn't match my degree so I almost had my visa rejected. I had to change my name and send them the change if name deed. So if you change or have changed your name prior to applying for a visa, that's something to maybe keep in mind.

The thing about Japan is that as a society, it is quite a conservative place. But it doesn't matter who you are or what your lifestyle is, you will always be treated as an outsider by those who don't know you well, but your close friends, who you carefully selected for being like-minded who people who love you and accept you as you are, will be your allies for life! 

(damned cat jumped on my keyboard and posted this before I was finished typing...)

[chocopie]

I don't have any personal experience I can tell you about but I'll put down what anything I think is relevant

would someone in need of gender therapy and HRT (hormone replacement therapy) be able to access doctors and specialists willing to/or trained to handle these things?

From what I've read it seems that therapy is covered by government health insurance but hormone therapy and any operations are not. If you have different health insurance then obviously your situation would differ.

what are the laws on name and gender changes in japan, and would it be possible to have those things handled there, or would this be a matter of dealing with the legal transition in your own country before moving to japan?

As a non-Japanese citizen, any details you put on official paperwork in Japan are supposed to match whatever is on your passport. Therefore any official changes that need to be made probably have to deal with in your own country first.

how socially acceptable is the concept of someone being a different gender from what they were assigned at first? definitely not asking about crossdressing, or any of the sort.

I remember seeing a documentary on TV in Japan following a professional dancer's transition, probably around 5 years ago? Haruna Ai is also a well-known talento who is MtF. NHK also has ハートネットTV, a set of programming on the issues facing those who face social problems/are minorities in some way, including LGBT issues. There's an article on it here in English here. As NHK receives government funding, I suppose it could be taken as what society's view on something is supposed to be?

along with that, i feel inclined to ask about LGBT representation in japan, and how acceptable queer folk are to japanese people, especially when it comes to foreigners.

If you're not Japanese then generally Japanese social standards won't be applied to you so in that sense you're more acceptable. Plus any close-minded people will notice you're a foreigner and any kind of analysis of you as a person kind of stops there.

It might be good to look through the news articles on transgender issues in Japan Daily Press and The Japan Times as well.

I hope I've managed to write something helpful here!

[chocopie]

Additional random info I just remembered. Ueno Juri plays a character suffering from body dysmorphia in the drama ラストフレンズ. It's a good drama, but everyone in it is pretty miserable until the end...

[MidoriAbby]

I'm a bit late to this thread but I'm really excited that this is being talked about!
First of all vino I'm not exactly sure where I identify all the time but I'm on the genderqueer/gender non conforming spectrum and kudos to you for bringing this up on here, it's not always easy.

There is one resource I have for you, this person has lived in/been to Japan and is trans and queer, and reblogs or blogs about those kind of issues, here's a link to their 'Japan' tag with all posts relating to Japan, not everything in there is trans related but there are quite a few posts under here about LGBT issues such as a post I saw the other day about changing gender pronouns on legal documents.

queerascat.tumblr.com/tagged/japan

My other friend went to an LGBT parade in Tokyo that was inclusive of trans people, so I know there are communities in Japan that are advocating for trans rights and acceptance but since I haven't been there yet, I can't give you very in depth information.

Hope the link I gave you helps a little bit! Good luck.

[Bokusenou]

Unfortunately I don't really know much about transgender issues in Japan, so my post might not be super informative...
I found an article about it which might be helpful.
Also, I've read some articles about transwomen being allowed to wear girl's school uniforms, which is good progress. Interestingly, I've found that with Japanese guys, there seems to be less pressure to be super-macho, compared with American guys, which might make things easier in some ways.

Oh, there's a good manga which focuses on the coming of age of two transgender characters: 放浪息子(Hourou Musuko).

[Jembru]

Sorry to wake an old thread, but does anyone else use NHK news/Easy News?  They posted this* article yesterday/2 days ago, and I thought it was interesting. 

I actually don't know what to make of these statistics. I mean, it's pretty close to 50/50 which shows real progress for Japan, but still... more than half of the people questioned were still uncomfortable with LGPT people (although the article seems to be mainly talking about same sex relationships rather than gender dysphoria). I'd be interested to know how these stats correspond to Western societies. 

*Easy version 

Also, I saw your sig Vino.. no worries. You may be silently watching us from the shadows, but we still consider you part of the clan!! ^^