Under laws dating back to the 19th century, married couples must choose either their husband’s or their wife’s surname, and regarding 95 percent In some cases, the husband’s surname is chosen, claim the plaintiffs’ lawyers.
In addition to the bureaucratic red tape of having to change names, from passports to bank accounts, this creates problems for career-seeking women, the plaintiffs say.
In addition, they say, unmarried couples face problems with various rights, including those related to children, inheritance and taxes.
One of the plaintiffs stated that she has been living with her partner for 17 years and is raising a teenage daughter, but decided not to get married due to the obligation to change her surname.
“Both of us didn’t like the idea of changing our surnames, but we didn’t deserve the other to change,” the woman told reporters. “However, because we are not legally a married couple, even though we have been living together as a family for 17 years, there may be problems, such as not being able to become legal heirs, not being able to give consent to surgery or having inconveniences related to tax laws.”
The other plaintiffs, Yukio Koike, 66, and his partner Yukari Uchiyama, 56, married each time each of their three children was born to have joint custody and then divorced.
According to Y. Koike, this is because both respect each other’s personality: “I have never thought regarding erasing my name in my life.”
Five of the couples filed their lawsuits in the Tokyo District Court, and the sixth in the northern city of Sapporo.
The lawsuit asks for confirmation that the government did not illegally change the law, and for each plaintiff to be paid $500,000. yen (3.1 thousand euros) compensation.
“In countries outside of Japan, surname and marriage (…) are not a compromise relationship. But in Japan, if you choose one, you have to give up the other,” lawyer Makiko Terahara told reporters.
Japan’s Supreme Court has ruled twice, in 2015 and 2021, that the current law does not violate the constitution, but has also urged lawmakers to discuss the bill amid growing calls for more flexibility.
In recent years, there has been an increasing number of calls to allow individual surnames to be kept.
Last month, Masakazus Tokura, head of Keidanren, Japan’s most influential business lobby, said the group supports allowing marriages.
At the time, supporters of the current laws say having one last name is important to promote family ties, and the effort to change the rules, they say, is an attack on traditional values.
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2024-04-15 13:00:10
