Tokyo —
Masae Torai, a writer who announced having a sexual
identity disorder, was granted a request to be officially
recognized as a male at a Tokyo Family Court ruling on
Friday.
Torai, 40, who worked to
enact Japan's "special sexual identity disorder law," was
delighted at the ruling.
"It's taken a
long time to get here. Thank you," Torai said at a
news conference following the ruling. "My lawyer
phoned me to tell me that the family court ruling had
come out, and I hugged my mother and cried," he
said.
"I didn't think this
would happen before I died. I can hardly believe it's
real. I feel like pinching my cheek."
Torai said he wanted to
open schools for young people worried about the same
disorder, and called for an increase in specialist
doctors.
Torai served as a model
for a television drama portraying a student with a sexual
identity disorder. His writings include, "Otoko no Koseki
o Kudasai" (Give me a man's family register).
Since the enactment of
the sexual identity disorder special law in July, about
10 people nationwide have been granted sex changes,
according to Torai. (Japan, Sept. 11, 2004)
