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The story
Popular gravure idol Chie Yamanaka announced on her own Twitter account, “I am bisexual.” Chie is also known as half of a gravure sister duo, having appeared together with her older sister Mayumi Yamanaka for the first time in the 2026 photo book “Charisma.” Following the announcement, a reaction thread sprang up on 5ch’s Hello! Project board. In the thread, a string of posts confused “bisexual” with “non-binary,” while other comments questioned whether an announcement was even necessary, and some took a cynical view that she was simply riding the recent trend of celebrities publicly airing their personal feelings — opinions were split.
What people said
[A Message to My Dear Fans]
LOL, that post doesn't even know what "bisexual" means
Bisexual → likes both firm tofu and silken tofu
Non-binary → "I am tofu"
Her younger sister Chie Yamanaka also announced her retirement from gravure work that same year, 2020.
And yet, both of them ended up announcing their return to gravure activities
I actually shook hands with Sumi-kan a few times
Guess someone's gotta go "show her the truth" then (wink)
Though there are occasionally actresses who make lesbian scenes an absolute no-go — kind of curious why, for some reason
The older sister gives off a beautiful-but-aloof vibe, while the younger sister feels more cute and approachable.
Just going by impressions, but yeah, I can see why the younger one would be more popular
Background and Points of Debate on This Topic
“Bisexual” refers to a sexual orientation describing someone who “can feel romantic or sexual attraction to both men and women,” a concept on an entirely different axis from “non-binary,” which concerns gender identity — yet plenty of posts in the thread conflated the two anyway. In recent years there’s been a rise in celebrities making so-called “feelings statements,” publicly sharing their sexual orientation or inner thoughts, and the thread reflected a split between a cynical take that she was simply jumping on that trend and the view that her right to speak freely should be respected. Some commenters also argued that “lesbian and gay identities carry social significance, but bisexuality doesn’t need a public announcement” — and this very double standard over which orientations are considered “worth announcing” was itself at the heart of the mixed reactions.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Famous Gravure Idol Confesses: “I’m Bisexual. I Think Falling for Someone Should Be Freer Than That”.”
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