“If I could ask one question, is this thing called sex or gender something that can never be changed and that one must carry for the rest of one’s life?”
(Okabe, 2018, p.215^[1])

The book I chose to study about trans memoirs is Sōmu Buchō ha Toransu Jendā (The General Manager is Transgender.^[2]) The author, Rin Okabe, originally enjoyed “cross-dressing” as a hobby. However, as she continued to engage in cross-dressing, her desire to live as a woman gradually grew stronger, and in her mid-40s, she realized that her gender identity was female. She accepted her identity as a woman and decided to present as a woman in the workplace. As Chief Producer of the Business Promotion Department, she was concerned about how her workplace standing would change. The author is married and has one son, she came out to her wife regarding her new identity, but her reaction was negative and she could not understand. Additionally, she has not yet come out to her son. After leaving home, she changes clothes and puts on makeup in a storage unit, living an extreme double life where she switches between the face of “father” and the face of “woman” in her relationships with her work and family. Her emotional turmoil, as she oscillates between self-actualization in society and her relationships with her family, symbolizes the quest for identity in modern times.

Introduction

While transgender studies have extensively explored Western contexts, the Asian framework remains underexplored. This paper uses Okabe Rin’s memoir to examine the complexities of navigating transgender identity in Japan, contextualized. I specifically mention Asia because in Transgender Studies Quarterly (TQS), Trans-in-Asia, Asia-in-Trans emphasizes that which often neglects the complexities of Asian contexts. (Chiang & Leung 2022) I contend that “trans-in-Asia does not simply or primarily function as a nonnormative identity… but as a critical force that highlights how scholars have amalgamated spaces, cultures, communities, and bodies into units of analysis.”(ibid) and the importance of understanding trans experiences is shaped by local cultural and historical factors. The need to contextualize transgender memoirs within different cultural and historical frameworks will enrich the discussion on gender diversity. So, what is Japaneseness? Ruth Benedict describes Japanese culture with these two cultural examples: A culture of sin, which is when morality is treated as an absolute standard, and individuals regulate their behaviour based on their conscience, and a culture of shame is where people regulate their behaviour out of fear of criticism or ridicule from others. (The Chrysanthemum and the Sword 1946) Also, Shintaihappu^[3] means “Our bodies, including our hands, feet, hair, and skin, are all gifts from our parents. In a sense, our bodies are the remains of our parents. We should take good care of these precious remains and try not to injure them unnecessarily. This is the beginning of filial piety.” (Hayashi, 1929) Japaneseness can be understood through the social norm where it is considered good to live within a pattern, so it could be said that trans people fall outside of that framework. I argue that the external and internal cultural stress experienced by transgender individuals in Japan, reveals the complex dynamics of identity formation within this unique cultural landscape with the implications of the family register law, transnationalism, transmedicalism, homonationalism and homocapitalism.

Japanese Cultural Context: The Tension Between Trans Identity and Cultural Conformity

First, Okabe’s challenges reflect the broader Japanese cultural emphasis on conformity. The rigid frameworks of gender and interpersonal roles within the koseki system and the workplace exacerbate the tension between personal authenticity and societal expectations. For example, Okabe, unable to suppress her desire to live as a woman, confessed to her colleagues by email that she wanted to work as a transgender person, and Okabe shared her Gender Identity Disorder certificate, affirming her desire to live as a woman without requesting special treatment^[4]. (Okabe 2018) Societal expectations, whether implicit or explicit, can shape individual experiences. This tension between personal identity and societal expectations is further complicated by cultural conformity. In Japan, work culture is compulsory to maintain harmony and not cause confusion. Referring to Chrysanthemum and the Sword, Tsutomu Hoshino explains Japanese culture as follows: “In the family and interpersonal relationships, each person’s appropriate position, determined by age, generation, sex, and class, dictates his or her appropriate behaviour.^[5]” (2007) According to this context, it’s based on an idea of functionality where a general manager must conform and adjust with their coworkers as a way to function in the company. There is much less importance placed on individuality, creativity or innovation. If I apply this to the transgender context, it is likely to confuse the workplace if someone who previously presented as a man suddenly starts working as a woman.

Furthermore, the koseki system, which serves as Japan’s family registry, imposes additional challenges for transgender individuals by reinforcing traditional gender roles and limiting legal recognition of gender identity. Systemic barriers like the koseki, the Japanese family registry system, reinforce traditional gender roles and marginalize those who deviate from established norms, thereby complicating their efforts to navigate both personal authenticity and societal acceptance. According to Kosekiho(Family Registration Act^[6]), (Law No. 224 of 1945) is a public record that registers and certifies the personal status of Japanese citizens from birth to death. Family registers include an individual’s name, date of birth, relationship to parents, and marital status. In the family register, only male and female can be listed as gender. When people get married, they are registered in the same family register, and children belong to the parents’ family register. However, in Japan, where same-sex marriage is not recognized, marriage is not considered to be a marriage unless the couple is registered in the same family register, and identified as a man and a woman. The law clearly defines who it belongs to. It is possible to change one’s gender in one’s family register, but the conditions for doing so are quite problematic, so I want to discuss this point together with transmedicalism.

Transmedicalism: The Complexities of Gender Change in Japan

Unfortunately, gender reassignment and transmedicalism go hand in hand. It is possible to change one’s gender on the family register^[7], but various conditions must be met for each case. To change gender on one’s family register, a hearing is required at a family court following the Act on Special Cases for the Treatment of Gender Identity Disorder (Gender Identity Disorder Special Cases Act in Japan). In judgment on change of gender status, a diagnosis of gender identity disorder requires the consent of the family and, after a doctor’s diagnosis, a gender determination meeting. Even though changing one’s gender is a personal choice regarding one’s body, being transgender reflects a situation in which individual behaviour is not tolerated within the family community. In practice, the author’s wife refused to accompany Okabe to medical appointments, saying, “I was so shocked I didn’t know what action I would take.^[8]” It is the moment that Okabe’s wife shows confusion. These laws encourage transmedicalism since it is said that the reason that surgery is required to change gender is to prevent social unrest.

Here we would like to confirm where the problem lies. Organizations and politicians who support transmedicalism are concerned about the confusion that may result. The Association to Protect the Gender Identity Disorder Special Cases Act, has a statement, “We stand firmly in defence of special laws and surgical requirements and in firm opposition to so-called “self-ID”^[9]. Politicians belonging to the Parliamentarians for “the Safety and Security of All Women and Fairness in Women’s Sports” submitted a statement to the Minister of Justice. They expressed concern that “if the surgical requirement is found to be unconstitutional, it would cause great confusion, such as the fact that a woman could be a biological mother after becoming a legal male (because it would allow her to change her gender to male while maintaining her female reproductive capacity).”(Asahishinbun 2023) In contrast, these claims have a lot to do with eugenics, and Lowik criticizes eugenics for trans people, “these sterilization/surgical requirements are examples of a eugenic strategy deployed against trans people” (2017) Ironically, while Shintaihappu promotes keeping the body intact, it urges surgery for those looking to cross gender boundaries. This law is outdated and was recommended by the WHO in 2018, “Eliminating forced, coercive and otherwise involuntary sterilization” (3 May 2014), a statement by the WHO (World Health Organization). Gender identity disorder has been removed from the disability category and gender incongruence has been added. In response to these trends, in February 2024, “Japan court approves a trans man’s request for legal recognition without needing surgery. The court found that the hormone therapy Takahito Usui received made him eligible for gender affirmation.” (NBC News 2024) In addition, July 10, 2024, the Hiroshima Prefectural High Court approves a trans man’s request for legal recognition without needing surgery. In contrast, the Association to Protect the Gender Identity Disorder Special Cases Act’s statement, “The vagueness of the standards in this ruling is likely to cause social confusion and harm future discussions on revising the special cases law.^[10]” (NHK news 2024) To borrow the words of Bassi and Lafleur, “their ideology is that the trans-exclusionary dogma is the political quicksilver of our moment.”(2022) The thoughts of people undergoing forced gender reassignment surgery are toxic.

As previously discussed, Japanese law, influenced by transmedicalism, often pathologizes transgender identities. This, coupled with the cultural concept of haji (shame), can create a particularly challenging environment for transgender individuals. This emphasis on conformity can lead to internalized shame and self-doubt for those who deviate from societal norms.  Societal norms and expectations shape our understanding of gender, and what transgender individuals often face. However, the company where the author Okabe works is also running “Diversity Equity & Inclusion” campaigns, and there is a movement to understand trans people.

Transnationalism: The Complex Journey of Transgender Identity in Japan

I explore the concept of transnationalism, which involves the movement of people, ideas, and　cultural practices across borders. In the context of the memoir, it highlights how the author’s　transgender identity is influenced by both Japanese cultural norms and global queer rights movements. “They do so while recognizing that oppression can happen because of the consequences of changing gender or contesting gender categories as well as being categorized as a member of the ‘second sex’.” (Stryker 2017) This evolution highlights the importance of recognizing multiple identities and experiences within feminist discourse, particularly as it relates to gender identity and expression.

The company the author works at while supporting intersectional feminism in principle, also uses it as a capitalistic trend for generating profit, but it is conditional. This framing underscores the tension between genuine advocacy for intersectional feminism and the commercialization of feminist principles in the corporate world. This situation can be likened to homonationalism, whereby the acceptance of liberal LGBT rights has become a barometer of a nation’s fitness for sovereignty, a new element in the contemporary standard of civilization in international relations” (Rao 2022) and homocapitalism is a strategy of persuasion that pressures postcolonial nations, which have only “ambivalently accepted the case for queer inclusion,” (ibid) to conform to modernity under Western influence. The relationship between homonationalism, homocapitalism, and transnationalism is particularly significant. In this context, homonationalism enforces Western LGBTQ+ values globally, while “homocapitalism names a strategy of persuasion”(ibid)  pressuring postcolonial nations toward queer inclusion under modernity’s dominance. This concept resonates strongly within Japan’s capitalistic society, where the surface acceptance of social movements often hinges on their profitability. In Japan’s capitalistic society, a lot of surface acceptance of social movements is based on the condition of that movement being profitable.

In particular, when the author came out with her decision to live and present as a woman at work, her workplace had already started a diversity and inclusion campaign.  At the same time, homocapitalism operates as a strategy of persuasion within Japan’s capitalist society, where the surface acceptance of social movements is often contingent on their profitability. Corporate diversity campaigns, such as the one initiated by the author’s workplace, exemplify this dynamic. While these campaigns promote values like diversity, equity, and inclusion, they often serve as tools for enhancing a company’s public image and marketability, rather than addressing systemic inequalities.

In Conclusion

Navigating transgender identity reveals a complex interplay between personal authenticity, societal expectations, and systemic barriers. Rin Okabe’s memoir exemplifies the tension between self-actualization and the constraints imposed by Japanese cultural norms. These challenges are further compounded by transmedicalist policies.  Moreover, while corporate diversity campaigns signal progress, their conditional nature often reflects homocapitalist motives rather than genuine advocacy for systemic change.

Okabe’s story illustrates how transgender individuals must navigate a path fraught with cultural, legal, and institutional obstacles, underscoring the urgent need for more inclusive and equitable practices that recognize the diverse realities of gender identity. As Okabe poignantly questions, “Is this thing called sex or gender something that can never be changed and that one must carry for the rest of one’s life?” (2018), her lived experiences invite a re-examination of the societal frameworks that shape and often limit identity formation.

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