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The story
Reo Arao, a player for SV League Hokkaido, has reportedly come out as a sexual minority. He explained, “Rui Takahashi’s courage pushed me forward, and I decided to share this in my own words.” He becomes the second men’s volleyball player to come out publicly, following Rui Takahashi, who did so earlier. On 5ch, the thread was full of excited comparisons to the anime Haikyuu!! and messages of support, though some questioned the point of making such an announcement at all, and others debated why sexual orientation in particular tends to be the thing people are expected to disclose.
Men’s Volleyball: SV League Hokkaido’s Reo Arao Reveals He’s a Sexual Minority — “Rui Takahashi’s courage pushed me forward,” “I decided to share this in my own words”
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
If his teammate turns out to be his boyfriend, that'd be so hot
There'll be guys who push back against a gay teammate, maybe a secret boyfriend in the mix, someone realizing their own hidden feelings… all kinds of drama building to a super intense payoff
That's prime-time drama level heat (like Fuji TV's flagship Monday 9pm slot)
and he's got that teammate's photo tucked into the pendant he wears during matches
Isn't it everyone except Tanaka?
Nobody goes out of their way to announce they're into lolicon or feet, right?
Homosexuality is gradually gaining social acceptance, so there's probably a feeling that if an influential person speaks up, it pushes that acceptance further
Lolicon is heading the opposite direction, toward exclusion, so there's no way anyone would come forward about that
And fetishes just aren't the kind of thing you formally announce (it's not about trying to get people to understand)
America's a country where the moment you're labeled gay, you're basically dead socially
Isn't that exactly why he came out — because he didn't want that?
>>If I had to pick a label for my sexuality from within LGBTQ+, I'd say it's closer to "Q (questioning)."
>>I feel uncomfortable with phrases like "because I'm a man" or "because I'm a woman," and I often choose women's clothing. I feel more at ease around women, but I also enjoy spending time with men.
I don't really get that guy's whole angle
He started out with a "boy who looks like a girl" image, so now it's kind of like, what are you even going for?
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
Coming out as a sexual minority in men’s professional sports remains rare in Japan, and it’s said that Rui Takahashi’s earlier example helped push Arao toward this decision. Arao plays in the SV League, a newly launched top-tier men’s volleyball league that succeeded the V.League — an environment where individual players’ personal statements tend to draw a lot of attention. In interviews, Arao himself described his gender identity not as a definitive “gay” but as something closer to “questioning,” a nuance that’s easy to miss given the gap between the headline’s blunt “comes out as gay” framing and his own more careful words. Because volleyball is a team sport, aspects of private life shared with teammates — locker rooms, training camps — naturally become a talking point, and alongside supportive reactions, the thread also carried voices questioning the point of making such an announcement at all. The underlying question of why sexual orientation specifically becomes something to publicly disclose while other personal traits or preferences don’t echoes broader debates about the visibility of sexual minorities.
*This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Nanademo Jikkyo G) thread “Second Gay Announcement in Men’s Volleyball wwwwwwwwwww.”
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