Female Idol Announces “LGBT Friendly” Marriage Without Revealing Partner’s Gender

Ayaka Wada, a former member of the idol group Angerme, has gotten married.

In a post shared on her Instagram account, she made the announcement, simply titled “announcement.” Wada stated that she and her partner had married in Taiwan, where her partner is from, noting that the country was LGBT-friendly, something the pair both supported.

She also added that in the country, they were both able to keep their own last names.

I got married in Taiwan.

The reason we chose to get married in Taiwan, my partner’s home country, is that I have long supported same-sex marriage and also wanted the option to keep separate surnames. In Taiwan, both of these can be freely realized. A marriage formed under such a system is closer to the ideal we had envisioned.

In my case, since it is an international marriage, we can choose separate surnames in Japan as well. However, I hope not only for myself but for anyone who wishes, that everyone will be able to live a life true to themselves. I sincerely hope that optional separate surnames for married couples and same-sex marriage will be realized in Japan as soon as possible.

When the day comes that everyone can truly live as themselves, I would be happy if we could all say “congratulations” to one another.

The photo was taken at a celebration party my family in Taiwan held for us.

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Ayaka Wada first joined the music collective Hello! Project as a member of Hello! Pro Egg in June 2004, later debuting as a member of Angerme (then known as S/mileage) in 2009. She graduated from both groups in 2019 and has pursued her solo career since.

Congrats to the couple!