The celebration went on for a week and many big stars, who openly support gay rights in Japan, including Thelma Aoyama, M-Flo, Ryuchell and Wedsneday Campanella participated in celebrating the occasion. This May, nearly 200,000 people took the streets during Tokyo Rainbow Pride 2019, to celebrate the 25th Pride celebration since its first launch. In comparison to western countries, Japan has a long way to go, in terms of visibility and equal rights for LGBTQ+ people, but many Japanese musicians are celebrating diversity and fighting for gay rights within Japan. So, LGBTQ + musicians have been busy, to say the least. The world fell in love with pop phenomenon Troye Sivan, who cultivated a serious fan base and has been outspoken about his sexuality and his support for the LGBTQ community. Janelle Monáe opened up about her being pansexual this April and how her Grammys nominated album, ‘Dirty Computer’ set her free. Last year, the Japanese-American gay icon (aka “lesbian Jesus”) Hayley Kiyoko’s viral hashtag #20GAYTEEN kicked off a year of LGBTQ visibility like never before.
