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the queerty interview
Music
J-pop singer Shinjiro Atae talks coming out, “Into the Light,” & his theme song for the year
Shinjiro Atae is undeniably his most comfortable on stage. It’s no surprise, considering he’s been performing his entire life – starting with dance at 10 years old, which led to his 2005 debut with Japanese co-ed pop quintet AAA, and then subsequent success as a solo artist.Still, nothing could have tempered the 34-year-old’s nerves for his most recent go behind the microphone: a free fan event in Tokyo where he publicly came out as gay to an audience of near 2,000.“It has taken me a long time to be able to say I am gay,” Atae revealed in his speech.