A Japanese football star has come out as a trans man, drawing widespread support. Marumi Yamazaki, 35, marked New Year’s Day with an Instagram post alongside his wife, announcing a legal gender change and marriage. He said, “[This happened a while ago] I have changed my gender on my family register to male and married a really wonderful woman! The main reason I retired from soccer was to make this dream come true.” Yamazaki, a former JEF United Chiba midfielder, retired in 2023 after earning 177 caps and playing for Japan at the 2013 Algarve Cup.
