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“Friendship Marriages” in Japan Give Sexual Minorities Shelter — But At What Cost?
Some sexual minorities in Japan are choosing to marry out of convenience. One expert calls it a “last resort” driven by societal inequality.
By Jay Allen
Japan’s population has seen better days. Every year, the number of new live births hits a new low. Many people are facing pressure — from their parents or society — to hook up and produce kids.
Some sexual minorities who feel they can’t come out to their families or co-workers are reacting to this pressure by choosing a unique path: “friendship marriages” that provide them with societal cover while still enabling them to be themselves. It is, as one expert notes, a “survival strategy” driven by a society that’s still working to accept its LGBTQ citizens.
“A comrade in arms”
47News spotlights one such relationship. Satsuki is a lesbian woman who hid her identity from her mom, who kept pressuring Satsuki to get married and give her grandkids. Minato is a bisexual man who’s romantically attracted to women but sexually attracted to men exclusively.
