Partner with Marumi Yamazaki. (Instagram)
Partner with Marumi Yamazaki. (Instagram)
A Japanese football star has proudly come out as transgender, and fans are showering him with love.
35-year-old Marumi Yamazaki welcomed the new year by sending out a heartfelt photo with his wife to his fans.
The former JEF United Chiba soccer star posted a photo of himself and his wife on Instagram, calling her a “truly amazing woman” and announcing that he had officially changed his legal gender.
Yamazaki played for four different teams from 2006 to 2020 before retiring in 2023.
He also played for Japan at the 2013 Algarve Cup, earning four senior caps.
“I am brave enough to announce this to you all,” he wrote in the post. out sports.
“[This happened a while ago] I changed my gender on my family register to male and married a really wonderful woman! The main reason I retired from soccer was to make this dream come true. ”
He went on to admit that he had no intention of publicly announcing his move, but after coming out privately for a year, he decided to share the truth.
To legally change their gender in Japan, transgender people must undergo sterilization and cannot marry.
Mr. Yamazaki admitted that he had been undergoing treatment, and said that he had chosen to convert considering his age, and that he believed that “now was the right time.”
Regarding the acceptance of transgender people in Japan, he wrote, “I think it has not been fully accepted yet and there are pros and cons, but I hope that I can expand someone’s sense of values, serve as a guideline for someone, and give someone courage and hope.”
Yamazaki’s sports career included playing for AS Elfen Sayama FC from 2006 to 2007, Albirex Niigata from 2009 to 2016, AC Nagano Parceiro from 2016 to 2017, and JEF United Chiba from 2018 to 2020.
Overall, the midfielder has won 177 caps, 101 of which came from Albirex Niigata.
Source: PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news – www.thepinknews.com
