Matchmaking agency in Japan offers safe space for LGBT community
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
A gay man in his 20s said there were “no safe spaces” for him, but felt “relief” after using the agency's services.
PHOTO: EPA
Follow topic:
TOKYO – A matchmaking service focused on the western Japan LGBT community has proved a success since its launch some three years ago, providing peace of mind for people who do not want to use an app to find their life partner.
Best Lian Plus, based in Kobe, Hyogo prefecture, is operated by Mr Yoshimune Tanabe, 39, and Mr Tomotaka Arai, 44, who themselves met through a matchmaking agency in neighbouring Osaka prefecture in 2020 and took a partnership oath the following year.
As opportunities to meet people of the same sexual orientation are largely limited to dating apps, the two see matchmaking agencies as essential to providing a different, safer alternative.
They also believe LGBT people desire understanding not offered by apps and services operated by those outside the community.
In the light of those worries, the couple decided to open their own agency, focused first on gay men, in June 2021. Around 150 people from their 20s to their 60s have since signed up, and the service has matched 20 couples.
A man in his 20s said he had hidden his sexual orientation and said there were “no safe spaces” for him, but now he felt “relief” after using the services offered by the agency.
Mr Tanabe and Mr Arai initially founded Best Lian for gay men only, but in 2022 launched Best Lian Plus for the entire LGBT community. KYODO NEWS
