Japanese volleyball player Rui Takahashi came out as gay on Tuesday, saying he wanted to help others struggling with their sexuality in a country where openly LGBTQ+ athletes are extremely rare. The 26-year-old Takahashi, who plays for Suntory Sunbirds Osaka in the top division of the SV. League, Japan’s professional volleyball league, posted a statement on social media accompanied by a black-and-white photo of himself.
In it, he said he had been “afraid to face a certain side of myself” since he was young. Women’s football player Shiho Shimoyamada was the first to come out as gay in 2019. Kumi Yokoyama, who played for Japan at the Women’s World Cup, later came out as a transgender man.
In June 2021, the Japanese Olympic Committee appointed transgender former fencer Fumino Sugiyama to its board of directors, just weeks before the Tokyo Olympics. Takahashi said he hoped him coming out would help others in a similar situation.
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