著者

Susaki Seiji

出版者

Department of Geography, Tokyo Metropolitan University

雑誌

Geographical reports of Tokyo Metropolitan University (ISSN:03868710)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.56, pp.73-83, 2021

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Unlike gay districts in the West and Australia, which are home to the gay and lesbian community, Shinjuku Ni-chome in Tokyo, the center of gay and lesbian businesses in Japan, is not a place where most gay men and lesbians choose to live. This paper examinesthe perceptions of gay men and lesbians about Shinjuku Ni-chome to explain why they do not prefer to live in Shinjuku Ni-chome. Fieldwork included snowball sampling semi-structured interviews with gay men and lesbians and participation in the activity of “Ni-chome umisakura,” which is responsiblefor garbage collection in Shinjuku Ni-chome. It revealed the following reasons for gay men and lesbians not choosing to reside in Shinjuku Ni-chome: First, gay men and lesbians consider the living environment of Shinjuku Ni-chome poor, noisy, and littered with trash. Second, the cost of housing in Shinjuku Ni-chome is high. Third, living in Shinjuku Ni-chome would mean that they have to come out and expose their sexual orientation. Fourth, since the number of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) support organizations in Shinjuku Ni-chome is few,and Shinjuku Ward does not have a “partnership vow program,” gay men and lesbians may not receive some supports from local government. Thus, Shinjuku Ni-chome is not a preferred place of residence for gay men and lesbians in Japan but a place they choose for entertainment. The gay district in Japan is different from the ones in the West as it is used only as a temporary refuge, a place for amusement and leisure, by gay men and lesbians.