According to Dentsu Diversity Lab, 7.6% (about 1 in 13) of the nearly 70,000 Japanese who participated in their 2015 survey identified themselves as "LGBT," up from 5.2% in 2012. A growing number of Japanese businesses are making efforts to recognize the needs of gender and sexual minorities both as part of the workforce and as customers of services and products.

Most likely reflecting this trend, transgender model, media personality, entrepreneur and Miss International Queen 2015 contestant Satsuki Nishihara announced that on November 17, she will open a new private school called Otomejuku. Combining the word otome, meaning girl or maiden, with juku, meaning private school, Otomejuku will offer a range of classes enabling students to become more feminine.

As Nishihara explains in the press release: "Many people who were born male but wish to be female worry because they want to become more ladylike. Even if they buy a skirt or a one-piece dress, even if they crossdress and try to behave as women, they aren't confident that they look cute and they don't go out. There are many people who worry like this today. I opened this school for people like this, to give them advice on feminization."

Here are some of the courses the school will offer:

Feminization Workshop

Students will learn how to "live as a woman," including walking, gesturing, manners and interacting with others, and gain an understanding of the fundamental differences between women and men. They will also learn from the personal experience of head instructor Satsuki Nishihara and how she became a woman.

Makeup Workshop

Due to differences in bone structure, applying the same makeup women apply on a man's face creates undesired deeply-chiseled features. Otomejuku teaches students how to apply makeup in a way that de-emphasizes such features, hiding facial hair and pores, smoothing over hairlines, and other techniques to create a more feminine appearance.

Voice Workshop

Students will receive training to produce a voice that approaches that of a woman. This is a subject that is of great interest to many trans women. Students will learn how to train their throat muscles and exercise their vocal chords to produce a voice that sounds feminine.

In addition to these workshops which are only available to registered students (members), Otomejuku also offers one-day experience courses and a photo session service for non-members with a professional photographer

Even if you don't enroll in a course, becoming a member allows you to have monthly one-on-one video chat counseling sessions with head instructor Satsuki Nishihara.

If you want to learn more about Otomejuku, or if you plan on being in Tokyo on November 5 for their next information session, please visit their website to get more details and/or register.

You can also learn more about head instructor Satsuki Nishihara at her personal website or follow her activities on Twitter.