In a trial in which a Japanese couple who chose a married couple's surname and got married in the United States was asked to admit that they are still married in Japan, the Tokyo District Court admitted that the marriage was established, but the surname remains the same. I refused to list it in my family register and dismissed the complaint.

Film director Kazuhiro Soda and his wife, Kiyoko Kashiwagi, married in New York, USA, 24 years ago in 1997, choosing a married couple's surname. I asked the country to admit that it was a relationship.



In Japan, the Civil Code stipulates that married couples have the same surname, and when Japanese people get married, they are not allowed to have different surnames. While claiming that it was not established, the couple claimed that "marriage is validly established by New York law."



In the ruling, Judge Yoshitaka Ichihara of the Tokyo District Court said, "It is naturally assumed that even under Japanese law, we will marry without stipulating the" surname that the couple names "according to foreign methods. The marriage method is stipulated by the law of the country in which the marriage was held, so the marriage of the two is valid. "



On the other hand, he dismissed the complaint, saying, "It is more appropriate to appeal to the family court regarding family registration."



In addition, he said, "It is the situation of two people that they do not decide the'family name that the couple calls', and there is no objective obstacle to decide the family name and request the entry of the family name." I did not admit to mentioning in.

Globalization and married couple surnames

In many countries overseas, it has become possible to choose a married couple's family name, and according to the Ministry of Justice, Japan is the only country in the world where couples are obliged to give the same family name. That is.



Since there is a big difference in the system between Japan and other countries, even a couple who got married overseas like this time will not be allowed to marry in Japan.



The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has frequently recommended that the provisions of the Japanese Civil Code, which does not allow married couples to have different surnames, be amended promptly as "discriminatory laws and regulations against women."



In addition, due to the increase in the movement of people across countries, the number of “international marriages” of foreigners by one of the couples is also increasing.



According to national statistics, the ratio of international marriages to marriages in Japan was 0.4% of the total in 1965, but gradually increased and reached a peak of 6.1% in 2006.



After that, it decreased to 3.3% in 2015, and even in Japan, for internationally married couples, it is possible to choose a married couple's surname at the time of marriage.

Opinion poll shows 57% of "selective married couple surnames"

When asked "what should the couple's surname be?" In an opinion poll conducted by NHK late last month, 40% of the respondents said "the couple should give the same surname" and "whether it is the same surname or another surname." 57% of the respondents answered, "You should be able to choose."



The survey was conducted late last month by dialing random numbers on landlines and mobile phones.

Judiciary judgment over surnames by couple

In a trial in which it was disputed whether the provisions of the Civil Code, which does not allow married couples to have different surnames, violate the Constitution, the Supreme Court opened a large court of all 15 judges in 2015, which attracted attention. It was.



The Supreme Court's en banc ruled for the first time that it would not violate the Constitution, saying that "the system for couples to have the same surname has become established in society, and it is rational to have one family name." I did.



On the other hand, of the 15 judges, all three female judges and two male judges, a total of five, said that it would be unconstitutional to disallow a married couple's surname.



Even after this Supreme Court decision, trials seeking a married couple's surname have been filed one after another.



In December of last year, the second and third small courts of the Supreme Court decided to hear the trial for a married couple's surname in the en banc, and the constitutional decision will be made again in the en banc. ..