Japanese volleyball player Rui Takahashi comes out as gay
As well as sharing his own coming-out journey, Takahashi said he hopes his story will help inspire others
By Aaron Sugg
Japanese professional volleyball player Rui Takahashi has come out as gay in a candid statement shared on social media.
The 26-year-old has played for Suntory Sunbirds Osaka since 2022, competing in Japan’s top professional volleyball league, the SV. League.
Taking to social media, Takahashi spoke about his coming-out journey, admitting he had struggled with his sexuality since he was young.
“I am gay” – Rui Takahashi coming out
According to The Japan Times, he said he was “afraid to face a certain side of myself” and that he “struggled with it and ended up denying who I was”.
“That is the fact that I am gay and that I am one of the sexual minorities,” he wrote.
His brother, Ran Takahashi, a popular player for Japan’s national volleyball team, helped him accept his sexuality.
“Ran became the trigger” – Takahashi thanks his brother for helping him come out
“Talking with Ran became the trigger that finally allowed me to accept myself for the first time,” he wrote.
Reflecting on writing his statement, Takahashi said: “By putting my feelings into words, I was able to sort out my thoughts, and little by little I started to feel that it was OK to be just the way I am.”
As well as sharing his own coming-out journey, Takahashi said he hopes his story will help inspire others.
Takahashi wants to become a “catalyst” for other LGBTQ+ players
“I would be happy if my decision to face myself and speak in my own words could, even in a small way, become a catalyst for them,” he wrote.
Takahashi appears to be the only currently active male Japanese professional volleyball player to have publicly come out as LGBTQ+.
Former professional volleyball player Nanae Takizawa, who played for Pioneer Red Wings, came out as a lesbian in a TV interview in 2017.
LGBTQ+ rights in Japan
Although same-sex relationships are legal in Japan, same-sex marriage is not legally recognised nationwide, while protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity remain loose.