Japan: Manga Confronting Homophobia In Japan Getting Live-Action TV Drama

Japan’s national public broadcaster has commissioned a TV show about a married gay couple.

NHK, the Japan Broadcasting Corporation, picked up the three-episode series based on manga series My Brother’s Husband, created by gay author Gengoroh Tagame.  The manga tells the story of Yaichi, a man struggling to deal with the death of his gay twin brother, Ryoji.

Yaichi and his young daughter Kana’s lives are disrupted when they meet Ryoji’s gay Canadian husband, Mike Flanagan.

The broadcaster says Ryuta Sato will play Yaichi and ex-sumo wrestler Baruto Kaito has been cast as Mike Flanagan. The show will debut in March 2018 on NHK’s BS Premium.

Gengoru Tagame said: “When I was drawing ‘My Brother’s Husband’, I wanted as many people as possible to experience this story. Over the past few years, same-sex marriage has been legalized in many countries across of the world. One day it may be discussed in Japan. Before that point, people should [be educated] about gay relationships. I wanted everyone to understand different types of people."

There is no nationwide recognition of same-sex relationships in Japan, and same-sex couples are not legally able to adopt – but a movement is building to change the law. Read more via PinkNews