Editorial: Japan will never be truly equal without same-sex marriage, surname choice

There are people whose dignity is being trampled on daily because their marriage, their commitment to someone they love, is not legally recognized in Japan. And many of these couples feel that they are being discriminated against.

Eri Nakaya, head of a nonprofit organization that supports sexual minorities, lives in Sapporo with her partner, a woman in her 30s. They have been together for 16 years.

When renting a place to live, a real estate agent told them, “Some landlords won’t rent to you, so please say you’re just friends sharing a room.” When they tried to buy an apartment, they couldn’t get a so-called “pair loan,” wherein married couples can each get a loan for their home and then become one another’s guarantor, effectively splitting the debt between them, because they were not legally married.

It took a long time to gain their families’ understanding, and they have faced social prejudice. Nakaya fears that many more difficulties lie ahead.

Even though same-sex couples have always existed, society has treated them as if they don’t. Same-sex marriage is not recognized under the current Civil Code or Family Register Act. Even if a same-sex couple submits a marriage registration application, it will not be accepted.

Couples face disadvantages

While many municipalities are adopting partnership certification systems, they have no legal effect in matters like taxes, social security, parental rights or inheritance. In some cases, a person may not even be able to participate in hospital admission procedures or consent to surgery if their same-sex partner becomes ill.

Nakaya, aiming to make same-sex marriage a reality in Japan, filed a lawsuit against the state, arguing that “because a (same-sex marriage) system is not in place, those involved are suffering.” In March of this year, the Sapporo High Court ruled that the current system violates the first paragraph of Article 24 of the Constitution, which stipulates freedom of marriage.

In similar lawsuits across the country, district court rulings have also found the current system to be unconstitutional or in a state of unconstitutionality. “Based on the judiciary’s observations, I hope the government will act swiftly,” Nakaya says.

The system for married names is also a barrier to tying the knot for some people. The Civil Code and other laws require Japanese couples to always use the same surname, so a marriage registration will not be accepted unless one partner changes their name.

Yukari Uchiyama, a 56-year-old high school teacher in Nagano Prefecture, has remained in a common law marriage with her former colleague, Yukio Koike, 66, so she can keep the surname she grew up with. To establish parent-child relationships between her husband and their three children, they have married and divorced three times.

While legally married, Uchiyama was able to go by “Uchiyama” at work as a common name, but she had to change her name to “Koike” on public documents like her driver’s license. She felt a sense of loss, as if her name was being erased.

Four years ago, her eldest daughter, who had just married, called her in tears, saying the process of changing her surname felt like “holding a funeral for her name.” Uchiyama felt guilty for making her daughter go through the same experience she had.

Currently, 95% of couples in Japan choose the husband’s surname. Uchiyama finds it unreasonable that women disproportionately bear the disadvantages of changing their names.

As Uchiyama grows older, she is concerned about the future. In a common law marriage, the rights of a married couple may not be fully guaranteed. She is participating in a class-action lawsuit seeking the introduction of a system that allows couples to choose whether to share a surname or keep separate ones.

Protecting individual dignity

Sexual orientation is diverse and cannot be changed at will. A person’s name is their social identifier and a symbol of their character. Both are related to identity, but Japan’s current legal system does not respect them. Some people feel that their dignity is being compromised and that their very existence is being denied. This is a human rights issue, and human rights should be legally protected.

Despite this, the government and the Diet are slow to act.

Marriage has traditionally been understood as a union in which a man and a woman form a household and raise children. Although the family-based civil law system was abolished after World War II, the requirement for married couples to have the same surname was maintained.

However, people’s views on family have changed. In various opinion polls, more than half of respondents support the legalization of same-sex marriage and the introduction of a selective surname system.

Keigo Komamura, a professor of constitutional law at Tokyo’s Keio University, points out that “politics is out of step with public consciousness. Diet members need to think from the perspective of those affected and have the sensitivity and imagination to understand the disadvantages they face.”

If Japan’s marriage-related systems are revised, the hopes of those disadvantaged by current law will be fulfilled. At the same time, none of these changes will infringe on the rights of others. We must create a society where everyone is respected as individuals and can marry the person they cherish.