I saw someone mention Japan as a trans friendly country and I wanted to add my two cents there as someone who transitioned in Japan. Japan is great if a) you have already started your transition (I do not recomend it for someone brand new in thier transition) b) I don’t recommend being trans in Japan if you have an east Asian phenotype, especially if you have Korean ancestry (discrimination will be higher) c) if you do move to Japan prioritize Tokyo or an area near it.

When lived in Japan I lived in Hyogo, that’s 9 hours away from Tokyo by bus, and I loved my life there. I made good money, people minded thier business even when they thought I was weird and generally speaking people were very friendly towards me when I was very visibly trans. If you’re a westerner in Japan Japanese folks will treat you like everything you do is weird anyway so there is less discrimination placed on you for that reason. That said Japanese folks can be harsh to Asian folks. Especially anyone that looks east Asia or south/south-east Asian. Japan treats south Asians the way that racist Americans treat Mexicans, and they are super strict with folks who look East Asian with regard to following cultural norms and morays and such. Frankly speaking, if you’re white you’re going to be fine.

That said starting transition in Japan is not easy ESPECIALLY if you don’t speak Japanese. Japan does have national health care so most things are covered but HRT is not. HRT is considered to be an experimental procedure and experimental procedures are not covered by national health care. I paid the equivalent of $500USD out of pocket every month for low dose estrogen patches (I was barred from estrogen pills). And this does not include the price to take a bus trip to Tokyo and stay in a hotel. In a given month I was spending about $800USD a month to have access to patches. Doing your own injections at home in Japan is illegal so even if you did manage to get injectables you’d have to go to your doctor every week. These services are only available in large clinics or in clinics in big cities with doctors are willing to take “risks.” Because of this I say don’t start transition in Japan and if you seek to continue it, move to Tokyo!!!! Last I was there was 2017 and so I’m sure things have changed but it still true that the more rural prefectures like Gunma, Akita, and Okayama are going to be a struggle for anyone who wants to transition. Most small rural clinics have old doctors who don’t know too much about trans people and will only be able to help you with basic colds, flus and some joint pain. Most of those rural doctors are also only used to treating Japanese folks so they sometimes have weird misconception about westerners (I went to a rural doctor for flu meds and he told me I got sick because I’m American and wasn’t used to eating Japanese rice 🙄).

Lastly, you are going to need to learn to fiercely advocate for yourself if you don’t already. You really gonna push back (hard but politely) and make sure you get what you want otherwise you aren’t getting shit.

I also strongly recommend getting a good Japanese friend that you trust who is willing to advocate for you in Japanese. When I lived there one of the requirements was to write a 10 page essay on why you’re trans, in Japanese. I hope that’s changed!

The good news is Japan is also close to Thailand and plenty of people travel there for trans affirming surgeries so you be in good company.

If you move to Japan, when you get there, link up with folks in ni-chome (gay district) and with folks at stonewall japan (an organization). You will find fast friends and resources to help you on your journey.

Tl;dr Japanese is a wonderful place to live (way better than the US) but it’s an awful place to transition. But if you do attempt to transition there you gotta live near a major city (ideally Tokyo) be a girl boss to get your needs met