The Boyfriend

Introduction

“The Boyfriend”, also known as “ボーイフレンド” the first Japanese homosexual dating show premiered on Netflix on July 9 2024. The show features 9 adult men searching for love over the course of a month. They lived together in the Green Room. Each day one cast member chooses his date for a day together while the rest of the cast stays at the house socializing. Through this, they get to know each other on a deeper level. At the end of the show they each choose their best match and if it’s mutual they leave the show together. Important to mention, this show is not a competition. Therefore no participants are sent home or get eliminated like other dating shows. One of the couples made from this show are to this day still together creating a lot of media attention and support. Our research question is as follows: What did Japanese people think about the dating show “The Boyfriend”, but first we would like to give some more general information about what a dating show is, the history of LGBTQ+ in Japan. As well as the general public opinion, and LGBTQ+ rights in Japan at the moment. Thereafter we will explicate on how we answered our research question with quantitative research, showing our methodology and steps.

What is a dating show

A dating show is a television program where people try to find romantic partners. There are different types of dating shows, for example you have Love Island or Love At First Sight, The Bachelor, these are well known in Europe and America. In Asia, shows like Single’s Inferno, Terrace House, Heart Signal and other shows are better known. In Asia you often have a panel of judges giving comments and their opinion about participants and happenings in the show, which takes up some screen time. The Boyfriend also has a panel with judges. These judges can shape the viewer’s thinking about the participants by giving their own opinion on what's happening in the show.

History of homosexuality in Japan

There were already signs of homosexuality in early Japan, this is visible in different works but the most famous one is the “Great mirror of male love”. There was a long-standing male-male sexual culture in Japan among the warrior class, Buddhist monks and in the entertainment industry. This sexual culture lasted until the end of the Edo Period because after the Meiji reconstruction there was a law prohibiting same-sex relations. Because of the spiritual aspects of the male-male relations in Japanese culture the law was dropped in 1880. Gay bars and sexual diversity were mentioned in magazines in the 1950s and 1960s focussing on male-male relationships. This led to a major step for equality and recognition and in 1994 Japan had their first gay and lesbian parade in Tokyo which came with acceptance from the public. The discovery of HIV/AIDS also held part in putting mainstream attention on gay men. Same-sex relationships in Asian cultures were prior to the western influence not seen as unusual or abnormal especially the relations between 2 men. The golden age for homoeroticism is during the Tokugawa regime (edo period) especially within the military and the entertainment industry. The term nanshoku literally translated to “male collars” or “same-sex relations between men”, those relations were based on age structure. It allowed warlords to have same-sex relations with boys who had not completed the coming-of-age ceremony yet. Meanwhile women-women relations remained almost invisible.

Public opinion about LGBTQ+ in general

As we all know, public opinion is almost always divided. When we are talking about what people think about the LGBTQ+ community, rights, etc, in general we can distinguish various groups of people with different opinions. Mainly the people who are for or against the LGBTQ+ community and people who are in neither of these 2 groups. It is also very important to time frame these opinions. From an American public survey about public opinion on the LGBTQ+ community, we can conclude that throughout the years there are more people accepting of this community than a few years ago. Through another article written by Zhang, Tianqi we can establish that a positive public opinion on LGBTQ+ is mainly created through environment, friends and knowledge about this community. The people who are ignorant about these things are mostly the people having a negative view of the LGBTQ+ community. We also notice that these negative groupings are usually people from older generations, because of their conservative views. Not taking away that conservatism exists in all generations.

Japan and LGBTQ+ rights

In Japan, despite its apparent gay friendliness, LGBTQ+ people have fewer legal protections compared to other developed countries. Japan has no laws against same-sex or cross-dressing, but same-sex marriage is not yet legal. LGBTQ+ individuals do face psychological and physical violence in their daily lives, and they have fewer legal resources when faced with discrimination in areas such as healthcare, education and housing. In June 2023, the Japanese Diet passed its first-ever law on sexual orientation and gender identity. The law seeks to promote the understanding of LGBTQ+ individuals and avoid discrimination. Japan’s Special Law on Gender Identity Disorder allows transgender individuals to transition and change their gender legally, and they may then marry

Sources

Duden.de. (2023, 13 april). Datingshow. Duden. https://www.duden.de/node/30571/revision/1218683

Exploring the Dynamics of LGBTQ+ Perceptions in Japan: an Analysis of Influencing Factors on Public Opinion. (z.d.). https://repository.teneo.libis.be/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE18507151&

Gallup. (2025, 26 februari). LGBTQ+ Rights | Gallup Historical Trends. Gallup.com. https://news.gallup.com/poll/1651/gay-lesbian-rights.aspx

Japan | Outright International. (z.d.). Outright International. https://outrightinternational.org/our-work/asia/japan

Japan Passes Law to ‘Promote Understanding’ of LGBT People. (2023, 21 augustus). Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/07/12/japan-passes-law-promote-understanding-lgbt-people

Kawasaka, K., & Würrer, S. (2024). Introduction: A new age of visibility? LGBTQ+ issues in contemporary Japan. In De Gruyter eBooks (pp. 1–20). https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110767995-004

Shibboleth Authentication Request. (z.d.). https://www-cambridge-org.kuleuven.e-bronnen.be/core/books/gender-and-sexuality-in-modern-japan/queer-identities-and-activisms/E9CEA414F3E338EEC13CA3ED6E579D8D#CN-bp-6

Tamagawa, M. (2015). Same-Sex Marriage in Japan. Journal Of GLBT Family Studies, 12(2), 160–187. https://doi.org/10.1080/1550428x.2015.1016252

Wikipedia contributors. (2025, 1 april). Homosexuality in Japan. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_in_Japan

Wikipedia contributors. (2025, april 20). The Great Mirror of Male Love. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Mirror_of_Male_Love