Gon Matsunaka is founder and former President of the Pride House Tokyo consortium and the Director of the Marriage for All movement in Japan. A former advertising executive for one of Japan’s top firms, Dentsu, Mr Matsunaka hid his sexuality for decades. “For me there was no future in my rural hometown, so I left for Tokyo,” he said. He then studied in Australia, worked in Tokyo as well as New York City and ultimately left his firm.

He came out as gay in 2010 and fixated on providing a community centre in Tokyo. The Olympic Games seemed like a golden opportunity.

The COVID pandemic struck, putting a lot of projects on hold but Mr Matsunaka and his team did not give up.

“In May 2020, survey after survey revealed that LGBTQI+ youth felt unsafe at home or they had lost touch with people, this really motivated me,” he said. He had secured 15 sponsors for a temporary LGBTQI+ safe space during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, called Tokyo Pride House. With the postponing of the Games however, the centre was cancelled.

The team persuaded the sponsors to shift their funding and create a permanent space. Years after the Olympics, Tokyo Pride House still stands proud within walking distance of the popular queer-friendly Shinjuku area in Tokyo.

In Kanazawa, Mr Matsunaka had linked up with Ms Hoon to start a Pride parade in 2021. Out of that success came the idea of a community centre.

Mr Matsunaka is particularly proud that the prefecture (city district) contributed half the funds to the Kanazawa Nijinoma centre. The rest was a result of crowdfunding.

Beaming in the Tokyo Pride House surrounded by rainbow flags, he said, “I never dreamed of this and never imagined it could be possible especially in a small city like Kanazawa.”

In his mind, women have been key. “Women have 2nd rank to men especially in rural areas like Kanazawa, so they have been our greatest allies to change the patriarchal mentalities,” he said. “Mind you we have a lot more work ahead, but I only want to go forward not backwards.”