Six couples who have lived together for many years but have not registered their marriage have sued the Japanese government to protest the regulation requiring them to change their surname to that of the husband or wife after marriage.
A 50-year-old woman has been living with her partner for 17 years and raising a daughter but has not registered her marriage because she does not want to change her surname.
"We both hate having to change our last names and don't want to force the other person to change," the woman said. "The fact is that we are not legally married, even though we have lived together as a family for 17 years."
The couple were among six couples who filed a lawsuit against the Japanese government on International Women’s Day, March 8, demanding that they be allowed to use their own surnames after registering their marriages. Under 19th-century marriage laws, couples in Japan must choose between the husband’s and the wife’s surname, and about 95 percent of couples choose the husband’s surname, even if the wife does not want it.
Couples hold up signs demanding to keep their surnames in front of the Tokyo court on March 8. Photo: AFP
Campaigners say that in addition to the cumbersome administrative procedures such as changing surnames on passports and bank accounts, outdated marriage laws also affect women with careers. If couples do not register their marriages, it will affect their rights regarding children, inheritance and taxes.
The 50-year-old woman said that because she did not register her marriage, her family could "get into trouble like her daughter not being able to become a legal heir, or not being able to sign a consent form for surgery, or being at a disadvantage in tax-related matters".
The other two plaintiffs are Yukio Koike, 66, and his partner Yukari Uchiyama, 56. They have three children, married each time they were born, and then divorced.
"We did it out of respect for each other," Koike said. "I never thought about removing my own last name."
Five couples filed the lawsuit in the Tokyo District Court, and a sixth couple filed the lawsuit in Sapporo, northern Japan. The lawsuit seeks to “ask the court to declare the government’s failure to amend the law illegal” and seeks $3,400 in compensation for each plaintiff.
"In other countries, surnames and marriage are not a trade-off. But in Japan, if you choose one, you have to give up the other," said lawyer Makiko Terahara, representing the plaintiffs.
Japan's Supreme Court in 2015 and 2021 declared the current law constitutional, but urged lawmakers to discuss making the bill more flexible.
In recent years, there have been growing calls for the government to amend the law to allow couples to keep their own surnames. Last month, Masakazu Tokura, head of Keidanren, Japan’s most influential lobbying group, said he supported people being given the right to choose their own surname or take their spouse’s.
However, supporters of the current law argue that using a surname is important to promoting family ties and that moves to change the law are an attack on traditional values.
Hong Hanh (According to AFP )
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