Nanae Takizawa (滝沢ななえ; ''Takizawa Nanae'', born September 22, 1987, in Mitaka,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

) is a former

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

player who played for Pioneer Red Wings. Born in

Mitaka, Tokyo file:井之頭恩賜公園 (16016034730).jpg, 260px, Inokashira Park in Mitaka is a Cities of Japan, city in the Western Tokyo region of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 190,403, and a population density of 12,00 ...

, she studied at Hachioji Jissen High School ( 八王子実践高等学校) and was a member of the volleyball team with Marie Wada and

Ayuka Hattori is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: * a member of Maria (band) Maria (stylized as MARIA) was an all female Japanese pop rock band signed onto Sony Music Japan. The band consists of six members. They rele ...

there. After finishing high school, she joined the volleyball team Pioneer Red Wings. In November 2017, Takizawa came out as a

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

when she told interviewers on a television program that she was dating a woman. She says that her friend had encouraged her, telling her that, with her fame, she could become the

Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American former comedian, actress, television host, writer, and producer. She began her career in stand-up comedy in the early 1980s, gaining national attention with a 1986 appearance on '' ...

of Japan. Takizawa also felt that she should make use of her position to give more recognition to lesbians in Japan. Interview with Cosmopolitan regarding coming out

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Nanae Takizawa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Takizawa, Nanae 1987 births Living people Japanese women's volleyball players People from Mitaka, Tokyo Japanese lesbians Lesbian sportswomen Japanese LGBTQ sportspeople LGBTQ volleyball players Volleyball players from Tokyo 21st-century Japanese sportswomen