Japan

LGBTQ Paralympians earned at least 25 medals in Tokyo during the 12 days of competition.

There is historic representation at the Olympics, but some of the best LGBTQ athletes didn’t make the trip – and the ones that did have been misgendered, publicly maligned, and even outed while in Japan.

One of Japan’s most recognized soccer players didn’t feel safe to come out until they were in America: “I had to explain to them what Japanese culture is like and why I felt the need to hide.”

One politician said that LGBTQ rights threaten “the preservation of the human race” as advocates push for protections before the Olympics.

Japan is the only G7 country that doesn’t treat LGBTQ couples equally with shameful laws that harm them instead.

Japan’s first permanent LGBTQ center is opening up ahead of next summer’s Olympics.

What do gay bars have to do with it?

Worldwide, people generally liked lesbians more than gay men.

The Tokyo judge presiding over the case found one government employee’s treatment by her employer, including asking her to ‘go back to being a man’, to be ‘lacking in validity’.

A caption on the woman’s photo read, “Unusual! A man who looks like a woman.” Ugh.