In “The Boyfriend,” premiering July 9 on Netflix, nine men live together in a beach house outside Tokyo. Netflix

Japan’s first same-sex reality dating show

On July 9, Netflix is introducing Japan’s first same-sex reality dating series, “The Boyfriend,” which follows nine men living in a luxury beach house outside Tokyo. Japan lags other wealthy democracies in L.G.B.T.Q. rights, and even though public sentiment has moved toward support for gay and transgender people there, they are still sometimes subjected to discrimination and hate speech.

Dai Ota, the show’s executive producer, said he wanted to “portray same-sex relationships as they really are,” as opposed to the exaggerated, stereotypical gay characters often depicted on Japanese television.

The vibe is wholesome and mostly chaste. Sex rarely comes up, and friendship and self-improvement feature as prominently as romance. Whether the show will lead to broader acceptance of the L.G.B.T.Q. community in Japan remains to be seen.

In “The Boyfriend,” premiering July 9 on Netflix, nine men live together in a beach house outside Tokyo. Netflix

Japan’s first same-sex reality dating show

On July 9, Netflix is introducing Japan’s first same-sex reality dating series, “The Boyfriend,” which follows nine men living in a luxury beach house outside Tokyo. Japan lags other wealthy democracies in L.G.B.T.Q. rights, and even though public sentiment has moved toward support for gay and transgender people there, they are still sometimes subjected to discrimination and hate speech.

Dai Ota, the show’s executive producer, said he wanted to “portray same-sex relationships as they really are,” as opposed to the exaggerated, stereotypical gay characters often depicted on Japanese television.

The vibe is wholesome and mostly chaste. Sex rarely comes up, and friendship and self-improvement feature as prominently as romance. Whether the show will lead to broader acceptance of the L.G.B.T.Q. community in Japan remains to be seen.

In “The Boyfriend,” premiering July 9 on Netflix, nine men live together in a beach house outside Tokyo. Netflix

Japan’s first same-sex reality dating show

On July 9, Netflix is introducing Japan’s first same-sex reality dating series, “The Boyfriend,” which follows nine men living in a luxury beach house outside Tokyo. Japan lags other wealthy democracies in L.G.B.T.Q. rights, and even though public sentiment has moved toward support for gay and transgender people there, they are still sometimes subjected to discrimination and hate speech.

Dai Ota, the show’s executive producer, said he wanted to “portray same-sex relationships as they really are,” as opposed to the exaggerated, stereotypical gay characters often depicted on Japanese television.

The vibe is wholesome and mostly chaste. Sex rarely comes up, and friendship and self-improvement feature as prominently as romance. Whether the show will lead to broader acceptance of the L.G.B.T.Q. community in Japan remains to be seen.