Japan is the only country among the world’s richest democracies that has not legalized same-sex unions. Few celebrities are openly gay. Conservative groups oppose legislative efforts to protect the LGBTQ community.
But now, Netflix is introducing the country’s first same-sex dating reality series.
In more than 10 episodes of “The Boyfriend,” which will be available in 190 countries starting July 9, a group of nine men gather at a luxurious beach house on the outskirts of Tokyo. The format is reminiscent of Japan’s most popular romance reality show, “Terrace House,” with its ensemble of clean-cut, extremely polite cast members, overseen by a panel of jovial commentators.
The environment is healthy and, for the most part, chaste. The men, who range in age from 22 to 36, operate a coffee truck during the day and cook dinner at night, with occasional forays outside for dates. One of the biggest conflicts (among the few) in the series revolves around the cost of purchasing raw chicken to make protein shakes for a club dancer who is trying to maintain his physique. Sex is rarely mentioned, and friendship and self-improvement figure as prominently as romance.
In Japan, the handful of openly gay and transgender actors who regularly appear on television are often flamboyant, effeminate comic characters who are mired in exaggerated stereotypes. With “The Boyfriend,” Dai Ota, the executive producer, said he wanted to “portray same-sex relationships as they really are.”
Ota, who was also a producer on “Terrace House,” which was produced by Fuji TV and licensed and distributed globally by Netflix, said he had avoided “the ‘let’s include people who cause trouble’ approach.”
“The Boyfriend,” he said, represents diversity in another way: with cast members of South Korean, Taiwanese and multi-ethnic descent.
Despite Japan lagging behind on LGBTQ rights, Ota said the show is not intended to offer overt political or social commentary. Cast members were not advised not to talk about the social challenges of being gay or bisexual in Japan, he said, but during the audition process, he reminded potential participants that “ultimately it will be broadcast and a wide range of viewers will be able to see it. Listen to those thoughts.”
Soshi Matsuoka, founder of Fair, an LGBTQ advocacy group in Tokyo who watched the series, said its mere existence “shows a change in society.” But he said he wished the cast would talk more openly about their sexuality and the social context of the LGBTQ community in Japan.
While “The Boyfriend” may be the first same-sex dating reality show set in Japan, there are a growing number of queer dating shows, including “The Ultimatum: Queer Love,” also for Netflix; “I Kissed a Boy” and “I Kissed a Girl” on the BBC; “For the Love of DILFS,” available on Apple TV+, and “His Man” in South Korea.
Taiki Takahashi, a gay model and social media influencer who served as casting director on “The Boyfriend,” said he had “high expectations and hopes” for the show.
“I won’t say we can change society,” he said in an interview at Netflix’s Tokyo offices. “But I do want a lot of people to feel some kind of impact.”
About 50 men auditioned after Takahashi posted casting calls on social media and recruited through his own networks. He said he deliberately chose “people who would be loved” and avoided men who “feel the pressure of ‘I have to become a certain character because I’m going to appear on TV’ or ‘because I’m gay I have to act gay. ’”
The shadow of “Terrace House” looms inevitably over “The Boyfriend.” They share the same basic format and one of the commentators, Yoshimi Tokui, has returned to the studio where he and a group of TV personalities dissect the interactions between the men on the show.
At the end of the fifth season of “Terrace House,” which became a global hit, one of the cast members, Hana Kimura, a professional wrestler from Japan, took her own life. She left several suicide notes and posted ominous notes on Twitter and Instagram before she died.
Her mother, Kyoko Kimura, has filed a lawsuit against Fuji TV and two other production companies, accusing them of failing to protect her daughter from defamatory comments and forcing her to behave on the show in a way that attracted massive criticism on the Internet. Ms Kimura is seeking damages of close to $1 million.
Ota said Netflix has hired mental health professionals to consult with the cast and “create a production environment where no one gets hurt.” He said Netflix had conducted background checks on each of the cast members and that after the show airs, “we will deal with them if they have the slightest anxiety.” Netflix did not make any of the cast members available for an interview.
Although polls show that more than 70 percent of the Japanese public supports legalizing same-sex unions, gay and transgender people are still subject to discrimination and hate speech.
Ms. Kimura, 47, said in a video interview that she knew from her daughter’s experience that young people new to the international expo “can’t imagine what it would be like to receive hundreds or thousands of defamatory comments from all over the world.” at the same time”. day.”
“The reality show format itself is dangerous,” he said. “And especially in Japan, where few people have detailed knowledge of the existence of LGBTQ people.”
Durian Lollobrigida, a drag queen who is one of five commentators on “The Boyfriend,” said he wanted to join the show to help “protect” the cast members.
“I thought it wouldn’t be good for straight people, who are the majority, to watch gay men mix,” said Lollobrigida, 39. “That’s why I thought it was necessary for someone to be there to act as a translator.”
Once filming began, he said, he felt comfortable with his fellow commentators and realized “I didn’t have to worry about this stuff.”
Even without explicit political advocacy, the show could have a subtle effect on social attitudes, Lollobrigida said. “To achieve diverse LGBTQ+ rights, of course speaking out and protesting is important,” she said. “But at the same time I think it’s important to normalize it through entertainment.”
It is questionable whether the program lays the groundwork for future political change, said Jennifer Robertson, a professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Michigan who has written frequently about LGBTQ culture in Japan.
She acknowledged that the sweet, low-drama cast members could make for touching viewing. In many ways, they offer an idealized contrast to “heteronormative couples who fight over kitchen cleanliness and kids,” Robertson said. Indeed, several of them (not just the cast’s professional chef) appear to be talented home cooks, and all work to keep the house clean — qualities not typically associated with most men in Japan.
But if the goal was to encourage less tolerant Japanese viewers to be more receptive to gay and bisexual men, Robertson added, he wondered whether those people were likely to watch a show like “The Boyfriend” anyway.
“Cutesification on a platform to drum up support among people who are likely already supportive of LGBTQ people will not be a boost in any direction toward political ratification of gay marriage,” he said.
