Yumi Muramatsu, a city councilor in Kofu, appealed to a higher court on Thursday after the Tokyo District Court ordered her to pay damages for disclosing the gender-change history of the Akutagawa Prize-winning author Ri Kotomi on social media, the Sankei Shimbun reported.
The court found that the need to keep Ri's gender-change history secret was extremely high and that Muramatsu had no reasonable grounds for making it public. In an interview with the Sankei Shimbun, Muramatsu questioned the ruling and described her concerns about women's safety.
What the councilor disputes
Asked what she objected to in the district court decision, Muramatsu said the court had insisted on a single point: that gender is the most sensitive category of information to be kept private.
“Gender also has a public aspect. When the person is well known and has social influence, I want that position taken into account.”Yumi Muramatsu, Kofu city councilor
Why she says birth sex should be disclosed
Muramatsu said she does not need to know a person's subjective gender but wants to know their biological sex. Some women feel nothing about transgender women, she said, but others find it frightening when someone enters spaces set aside by gender regardless of their body.
“There are places and gatherings where women feel safe because they think it is women only. If gender is hidden, they cannot live with peace of mind.”Yumi Muramatsu, Kofu city councilor
On Ri's public standing
Muramatsu described Ri as a well-known author who has publicly identified as a lesbian and is actively involved in advocating for transgender rights. She said it matters whether someone is speaking as a member of a group or as a supporter, and called the distinction important primary information.
She said she raised the issue because a person of that influence, active in that position, had been introduced in news coverage only as a woman and a lesbian.
Rights and disclosure
Muramatsu said she does not deny anyone's sexual orientation, that transgender rights should be recognized, and that two women should be free to date each other with mutual consent.
“But when someone is active as a lesbian, it is wrong for their sex at birth to become information that must be kept secret.”Yumi Muramatsu, Kofu city councilor
The interview also included a question Muramatsu was asked about whether protecting women's safety in general is a separate matter from disclosing Ri's personal gender history. Her answer was not included in the published question-and-answer text.
The district court previously ordered damages over the disclosure, which Ri had challenged as an outing — the public exposure of someone's sexual orientation or gender identity without consent — and upheld her claim.