Japanese professional volleyball player Rui Takahashi has come out as gay, becoming one of only a small number of openly LGBTQ+ professional athletes in Japan.
Takahashi, 26, shared the news Tuesday in a post on Instagram, where he opened up about struggling with his sexuality since he was young.
“I’ve been afraid to face my own side since I was a child, and I’ve been troubled and denied myself,” Takahashi writes in a translated version of the post. “That means I’m gay and a member of the sexual minority.”
Takahashi currently plays for Suntory Sunbirds Osaka in Japan’s top professional volleyball division. His younger brother, Ran Takahashi, is also a professional volleyball player and currently competes for Japan’s national team.
In his post, Takahashi says his relationship with his younger brother played a major role in helping him accept himself. The two spent around two years playing on the same team, and Takahashi says talking with his brother helped him finally acknowledge his identity.
“It was through talking to Ran that I was able to acknowledge myself for the first time,” Takahashi writes.
He also thanked his family, teammates, staff, and others who supported him during that process.
Takahashi says putting his feelings into words helped him better understand himself and eventually reach a place of acceptance.
“By putting my feelings into words, I was able to organize my mind, and I gradually started to think that ‘being myself is fine,’” he writes.
His coming out also adds to a small but growing number of openly LGBTQ+ athletes in Japan. Women’s soccer player Shiho Shimoyamada came out as gay in 2019, while former Japan international soccer player Kumi Yokoyama came out as a transgender man in 2021.
Takahashi said he hopes his announcement can help other people who may be struggling to accept themselves.
“For those who struggle with not being able to accept themselves, I would be happy if my words could be a small trigger for them to face themselves and make a change,” he writes.
The announcement comes only weeks before the start of a new volleyball season. Takahashi acknowledged the timing of the announcement while also reassuring fans that his focus on volleyball remains the same.
“As we welcome a new season, I wanted to take this opportunity to express my own words to all the fans who have always supported me,” he writes.
Takahashi adds that he plans to continue growing both as an athlete and as a person, saying he hopes to continue moving forward through volleyball “in my own way.”
