Tokyo Marathon finally adds non-binary runners category

TThe Tokyo Marathon is adding a non-binary category for runners from 2025, making it the last of six Main World Marathons to do this.

The marathon, with a planned field of around 38,000 runners, will feature gender-neutral changing rooms and bathrooms, while participant lists and registrations will include the descriptor non-binary. The Tokyo Marathon Foundation said in an affirmation published Monday on its website that it “aims to be the most inclusive race in the world, respecting the diversity and identities of participants.”

The other major world marathons – Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London and New York –added the non-binary category in recent years.

“Tokyo is finally catching up,” said Yuka Kanno, a professor at Doshisha University in Kyoto who specializes in gender and sexuality studies. “A non-binary category is long overdue, but still welcome news.”

But while New York in 2022 has become the first Of the major marathons that have awarded cash prizes for non-binary first-place finishers, Tokyo has not designated any prizes for those competing in the non-binary category, race guidelines indicated.

Japan has faced criticism from advocacy groups and the US ambassador to Tokyo, Rahm Emanuel, for not doing enough to promote the rights of LGBTQ individuals. Japan is the only member of the Group of Seven major economies that does not legally recognize same-sex marriages nor offer legal protection against discrimination.

A law passed by the Japanese parliament last year promotes understanding of LGBTQ issues but fails to protect any specific rights. Business lobbies have warned that Japan’s lack of LGBTQ-friendly policies prevents the country from recruiting global talent.