Organizers for the Tokyo Marathon will add a nonbinary option for runners to choose when they pick their gender in the registration process for next year’s race, following in the path of other major marathon events.
“We aim to create a more inclusive society through Tokyo Marathon 2025, and will promote sustainability efforts aimed at creating a warm and friendly event that takes into consideration people with disabilities and LGBTQ+ (sexual minorities) in particular,” the organizer Tokyo Marathon Foundation said in a statement on Monday, following a board meeting.
Other races in the Abbott World Marathon Majors series — the world’s six largest marathons held in Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York City and Tokyo — have already included a nonbinary checkbox in the registration form.
Applicants for the general entry category will be able to choose from male, female and nonbinary for Tokyo Marathon 2025, to be held on March 2. Applicants can register for general entry from Aug. 16 to 30, and participants will be announced on Sep. 20 based on lottery results.
The organizer, which has been receiving advice from Pride House Tokyo since 2019 to promote diversity in sports events, will provide changing rooms and nongender specific toilets that are open to all.
It will also allow entry on a trial basis of a “duo team,” or two runners running as a team with one runner pushing a buggy carrying another teammate who has difficulty running on their own due to cerebral palsy or other health conditions.
Tokyo Marathon, which started in 2007, is the largest marathon event in Japan, with 38,000 participants running from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building to Tokyo Station. In addition to elite runners, the annual event also attracts local residents and tourists wearing costumes.