J-Pop Idol Shinjiro Atae Comes Out as Gay
Shinjiro Atae is coming out.
The 34-year-old J-Pop superstar and AAA member revealed he is gay during a fan meet event at Line Cube Shibuya in Tokyo.
The idol made a moving speech to loud applause from the over 2,000 attendees, in which he revealed why he made the decision to tell his fans directly that he is gay and provided insight into his journey to self-acceptance, as well as resources for those that may be going through something similar.
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“It has taken me a long time to be able to say I am gay. I could not even say it to myself. I feared that even if I could accept the truth, the world would never accept me as an artist. However, I’ve come to realize it is better, both for me, and for the people I care about, including my fans, to live life authentically than to live a life never accepting who I truly am. I hope people who are struggling with the same feeling will find courage and know they are not alone,” he said.
To accompany the news, he also debuted a new song, “Into The Light.” A portion of the proceeds from the song’s release will be donated to Pride House Tokyo, Japan’s first permanent LGBTQ+ center, and ReBit, an organization providing resources and support for LGBTQ+ youth. The song was co-written with singer-songwriter Wrabel and writer-production duo Afterhrs.
This announcement comes at a politically sensitive time in Japan: as the only Group of Seven (G7) nation with no legal protection for same-sex unions, advocates have been calling for the government to pass stronger pro-LGBTQ+ legislation.
Shinjiro Atae is now one of the first API idols to come out.
It was also revealed at the event that Shinjiro will be working with the Academy-award winning Peter Farrelly and Fisher Stevens as producers on a forthcoming documentary about his life, directed by Shinjrio’s long-time friends, Carlie Mantilla-Jordan and John Eliot Jordan.
Find out who else came out in 2023.
Watch the music video…