On the first day of Tokyo Rainbow Pride (TRP), I felt like a queen as I arrived at Yoyogi Park in full drag. Surrounded by friends and familiar faces, the festival was a thriving community of tourists, event staff, queer artists, and LGBTQ+ people from around the world. With 240,000 attendees, this year’s TRP saw a record number of people, demonstrating the community’s growing presence and interest in pushing for queer rights.
TRP co-chairs Fumino Sugiyama and Natsumi Yamada emphasized the event’s importance as both a celebration and an opportunity to advance LGBTQ+ rights, including pushing Japan to pass more progressive legislation to support gender and sexual minorities. However, the increasing commercialization of TRP raises concerns about “rainbow washing” and the impact on smaller, counter-cultural groups. Some activists, such as Waifu organizers Midori Morita and Elin McCready, chose not to attend TRP’s parade due to its commercialism.
To address these concerns, local queer activists held the Tokyo Liberation March, a smaller and more somber march that aimed to fight Shibuya Ward’s discrimination against homeless people and draw attention to intersectional queer issues. Despite being a counterpoint to TRP, the Liberation March complemented the festival by providing a more serious message advocating for the human rights of the HIV-positive community.
The Pride Parade, attended by 10,000 people, was a blur of color and joy, with people screaming and waving from the sidewalks. The organizers of TRP expressed hope for a better future, and the parade provided a glimpse of what that future might look like. Though there are still challenges to overcome, the LGBTQ+ community in Japan is stronger and more vibrant than ever before.
As I marched through the streets of Shibuya, I felt both joy and anger, and I realized that these emotions are powerful tools in the fight for queer rights. Though there are still battles to be fought, we are already here, and we will continue to push forward towards a more inclusive and just society.