Disruption®︎ is at the core of everything we do. It’s a tool for change and an agent for growth: a working methodology and a life-view philosophy. Disruption is the art of asking better questions, challenging conventional wisdom and overturning assumptions and prejudices that get in the way of imagining new possibilities and visionary ideas. It’s our software. It’s our DNA. It’s who we are. And, as the Disruption Company, we are thrilled to introduce the Disruptor Series. We’re welcoming Disruptors from diverse industries not only to be informed, but to be inspired so that we too can be better Disruptors.

Disruptors’ profile

Talent and model. After graduating high school, moved to Tokyo and worked as a sales assistant at a store in Harajuku while moonlighting as a reader model. Thrust into the spotlight after appearing on a variety of TV programs. Now a father of a child, ryuchell is attracting attention for positive and progressive approach to childcare and diversity.

Representative Director of Marriage for All Japan. Graduated from the University of Tokyo, Faculty of Law, and after studying at New York University School of Law, worked as an attorney (Japan and New York) in a wide range of fields. She is co-chairman of Tokyo Omotesando Law & Accounting LPC. She has championed human rights issues for sexual minorities, including serving as co-chair of the Tokyo Defense Lawyers’ Group for the “Freedom of Marriage for All” lawsuit.

Disruption Points

In 2021, ryuchell announced the decision to pursue a new kind of family, “not as ‘husband’ and ‘wife,’ but as ‘life partner and parent of an irreplaceable son.’ ryuchell feels that many people have been imprinted from childhood with the ideal family image of having a “father and a mother” through advertisements and culture. ryuchell feels that many people are defining their happiness according to gender conventions as prescribed on social networking sites and culture in general. That is precisely why, ryuchell feels it is important to embody, express and disrupt gender norms and to say it out loud, if that is what brings you happiness.

Terahara-san explained how she saw herself as not being prejudiced against sexual minorities. However, one day she realized that she “was not prejudiced, but in fact indifferent.” She felt guilty at first because she realized that there are many sexual minorities who suffer from discrimination as a result of the indifference of the sexual majority, such as herself. This realization inspired Terahara-san to take a more active role in changing society for the better for all sexualities.
ryuchell was amazed that Terahara-san is now a defense lawyer spearheading the movement for legalizing same-sex marriage and the use of separate surnames by married couples in Japan.
“It’s so inspiring that a heterosexual woman feels so compelled and driven to dedicate so much of her life for the betterment of life for sexual minorities” ryuchell remarked.

Although many municipalities across Japan have introduced “partnership” systems for same-sex, they are not legally binding in any way and certainly do not offer the same legal protections of marriage.
The message sent to society is, “sexual minorities are not required to be afforded the same protections as the majority.”
It is a matter of human dignity and life, and the option of marriage needs to be equally available for all.

A contentious issue in the same-sex marriage debate is the purpose of marriage, which is currently interpreted by the state as for “natural reproduction purposes”; however, this is highly inconsistent with the fact that heterosexual couples who do not have children can marry. Examples from other countries show that natural reproduction is not the only purpose of marriage, and we hope that these perspectives can help pave the way for freer, broader and truer interpretations of the “purpose” of marriage.

ryuchell was asked, “What message do you have for advertising companies?” Based on ryuchell’s personal experience, he believes advertising has a profound effect on children, and added, “I think genuine diversity is when everyone can recognize that it is okay to embrace new ideas, while also preserving old ideas too, rather than “canceling” them.” ryuchell’s rallying call is, “I don’t want (advertising companies) to change society, but I do want them to send a message that real diversity can be realized, not only for those who want to change, but also for those who don’t want to change, and that those who don’t want to change won’t be left behind.”
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You can read reports of the past Disruptor Series from here.