■Yasuaki Asahara
Born in 1987, Asahara worked as staff for Peer Friends, an event aimed at helping gay youth make new friends. In 2006, he came out publicly before all the students in his school, and the text of his speech is included in the book, Coming Out Letters. He currently writes for magazines and is extensively active across several fields..

Asahara came out privately to a close friend in middle school, only to have word rapidly spread publicly among his fellow students. It became harder for him to attend classes and ultimately Asahara dropped out. At the same time that this bitter experience was forcing Asahara into a struggle with solitude, he coincidentally caught a glimpse of Ishikawa's book, Boku no Kareshi ha Doko ni Iru?, one day at a bookstore. It was then that he first knew he was not alone, and having greater access to the facts instilled Asahara with greater sense of hope and courage. Owing to this fateful discovery, Asahara became eager to help other struggling gay youth as he had been helped, and he began to undertake a variety of activities. Naturally, he worked as staff at Peer Friends, an event directed by Ishikawa. Asahara explains, "I was determined to appear on the program once it occurred to me that by doing so I could send a message to young LGBT viewers facing difficulties in their own lives."

Asahara is a young man who has found the personal strength and courage to come out before a school-full of classmates as well as appear in person on a national TV network. And yet, he still showed signs of nervousness before the taping. "It's so embarrassing to see yourself on TV (laughs)." But, once the camera starts rolling, his jitters seem to fade away, "I think that by going through this experience, I'll have more confidence that I can use for other work in the future. There's a lot I would like to try, as long as I have the chance." The promise of Asahara's drive alone leaves us a lot to look forward to.

★Asahara's message to viewers
There's laughter and tears and tons of information. I just hope that this program provides an opportunity for more people to learn just a little bit more about LGBT issues.

translated by rayna