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The story
Rui Takahashi (26), a SV League player for Suntory and the older brother of Japan men’s national volleyball team star Ran Takahashi, came out as gay on his Instagram on September 29. He revealed he had struggled with it since childhood, but after spending roughly two years on the same team as Ran and talking things over with him, he was finally able to “accept himself.” On 5channel, opinions split between “did he really need to announce this?” and “living a lie must have been far more painful,” with many posts also drawing comparisons to his brother Ran’s dating history.
Rui Takahashi (26), who plays in the men’s SV League for Suntory and is the older brother of national team star Ran Takahashi, updated his Instagram on the 29th to announce that he is gay.
He posted a statement titled “An Announcement,” writing: “Since I was young, I was afraid to face one part of myself, struggled with it, and denied who I was. That part is that I am gay, one of the sexual minorities.”
He explained the circumstances leading up to his announcement at length: “Spending about two years on the same team as my younger brother Ran meant more to me than anything, and talking with him is what first let me accept myself. Putting my feelings into words helped me sort out my heart, and little by little I came to feel that it’s okay to just be myself.”
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
He's fooled around with porn actresses, so he's at least not gay.
He's got a porn-actress fuck buddy, dude's plenty active.
If anything the brother's a womanizer.
Don't you think that these days, what you choose NOT to say matters way more than what you do say?
Well said.
True, that.
Public figures like him get asked way more personal questions than ordinary people, so I think it's understandable.
Interviewers basically always assume you're straight, and being marketed as "the brother of" his popular national-team brother probably comes up a lot too.
Keep hiding it and piling up lies long enough, and eventually it gets exhausting — of course you'd want to come out.
Like, "don't bother, ladies, it's useless"?
Probably just got tired of hiding it.
He probably keeps getting asked "what's your type of woman?" or whatever.
He probably just got sick of lying to himself.
Guess that means it's pointless for his female fans to chase after him.
Isn't it the opposite?
No risk of him getting snatched up by a woman, and you're on the same wavelength — it's basically like enjoying a night at a gay bar.
I mean, "otoko no ko" (crossdressing pretty-boy) porn is trending these days.
(Speaking as a straight guy.)
I don't really get it — is there some circumstance in that world I'm missing?
At an age where people start thinking about marriage, if you don't announce it, women interested in dating him are bound to show up.
So announcing it isn't weird at all —
it also saves the women considering him from wasting their time.
Me, a Telehodai (old flat-rate late-night dial-up plan) guy, already came out.
Makes no difference to me either way.
Well, if it helps him feel better, I guess that's fine.
Because guys like you slander people on social media.
1 in 10 people is gay.
That means there was definitely at least one in every class throughout elementary, middle, and high school.
Now that you mention it, *NSYNC, Westlife, Boyzone — whenever you get 5 or 6 guys together, there's always one who's gay.
Background and Key Points of This Story
The SV League, where Rui Takahashi plays, only launched in 2024 as Japan’s new top domestic men’s volleyball league, and it remains rare in Japan for an active male professional athlete to publicly disclose his own sexual orientation. Thread comments split between “did he really need to announce this?” and a defense of “living a lie must be harder,” reflecting differing values on how coming out should be viewed. It’s worth noting that Rui only disclosed his own sexual orientation — he made no statement whatsoever about his brother Ran’s orientation. Since sexual orientation varies between individuals even among blood relatives, speculation dragging the family into it has no factual basis.
*This article is composed by excerpting and summarizing the 5channel (Geisokuho+) thread “[Volleyball] Men’s national team member Ran Takahashi’s brother, Rui Takahashi, comes out as gay: “I was finally able to accept myself for the first time”.”
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