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Voice Actor Eishin Fudemura Comes Out as Gay

Voice actor Eishin Fudemura publicly announced that he is gay in a Twitter post on Saturday. His full statement is translated as follows:

Thank you for your continual support.

I have an announcement for you today. I was really worried about whether to tell you at this timing, but out of my desire to live true to myself as Eishin Fudemura, there is something I'd like all of my supporters to hear.

Maybe there are some among you who have already realized this, but I am a sexual minority: a man who is attracted to men. I am gay, in other words.

Some of you may be surprised by the suddenness of this, but when I thought of my future after this, I really wanted to live true to myself as a human being, so I have made this announcement.

I have been asked on previous occasions for work what kind of women I am into. Based on my answers, some supporters have told me that they wonder whether I am gay. There have been times when I instinctively denied and tried to laugh it off. The lies I uttered on those occasions have pained me very much, and I would find myself dwelling on the matter and questioning why I lied.

When making the announcement today, I worried about whether it would destroy the setting of the work I was involved in as an actor, or whether I would hurt the image of the characters. Maybe it would be better to just keep going about my work without announcing anything. But I wanted to give at least some hope to people who are struggling with the same things as me, or people who have dreams, and that's why I'm coming out as gay.

This may not be something that everyone can accept, but I will keep doing my best to ensure that everyone can acknowledge that the choice I made was for the best. Eishin Fudemura is not changing anytime soon, so I humbly ask for your support.

In addition, the gay idol unit Nichōme Sakigake no Coming Out announced on Wednesday that Eishin Fudemura will be joining as a member. Fudemura left a comment stating that his encounter with the group was the impetus for him coming out and living true as himself. He said that attending their concerts and listening to their music made him feel like he belonged, not simply because he was sexual minority but as another human being. He was inspired to audition for the group, and thanked the group and the staff for giving him the motivation to come out.

Fudemura's anime roles include Hitoshi Sugoroku in Nanbaka, Roman Yamashina in Tsuki ga Kirei, and Seren in Show By Rock!!. As part of the BB-voice voice actor unit, he performed the ending theme song "duality" for gdgd men's party.

Sources: Eishin Fudemura's Twitter account, Nichōme Sakigake no Coming Out website