ASIA / PACIFIC
Page 16 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
December 21, 2015
Japan court says requiring same surname in marriage is legal
By Yuri Kageyama
The Associated Press
OKYO — Japan’s Supreme Court
has ruled that requiring married
couples to have the same surname
is constitutional, dealing a blow to a
longtime effort for gender equality in
choosing names.
The law does not say which partner
must give up his or her name in marriage.
In practice it has almost always been the
woman who took the husband’s name.
Some women say that is unfair and feel as
though their identity is lost.
In traditional marriage, one person,
usually the woman, enters the household
of the partner and is registered as a
member of that household. Men are seen
as more powerful in Japanese traditional
culture. But as women increasingly have
careers, some argue that changing
surnames is confusing.
Some Japanese women continue to use
their maiden name professionally, even
after their surnames are legally changed
following marriage. Some couples simply
don’t register their marriages.
T
Kaori Okuni, one of the plaintiffs, said
she was deeply disappointed.
“This has consequences for the future,
meaning suffering for those who plan to
marry and those who are set to be born,”
she told a news conference.
In a separate case, the Supreme Court
ruled that prohibiting women from
remarrying for six months is unconstitu-
tional.
The thinking behind that requirement
was to prevent a woman who was possibly
pregnant by one man from marrying a
different person.
The court said that was outdated
because of advances in science, such as
DNA testing, that provide proof of the
biological parent, Tomoshi Sakka, a
SUPREME COURT RULINGS. Tomoshi
Sakka, second from right, a lawyer for a female plain-
tiff who is not in the photo, and her supporters, hold
a banner reading “Unconstitutional Judgement” after
their victory in a court case in front of the Supreme
Court in Tokyo. The court ruled that prohibiting women
from remarrying for six months is unconstitutional. The
court said it was outdated because of advances in sci-
ence, such as DNA testing, that provide proof of the
biological parent, Sakka told reporters outside the
courtroom. (AP Photo/Koji Ueda)
lawyer for that case, told reporters outside
the courtroom.
“The policy degraded women, and this is
a step toward gender equality,” he said.
The court found that a ban on
remarrying exceeding 100 days was
excessive. Sakka said he was optimistic
that the change would be extended to less
than 100 days in parliamentary
discussions.
That was little comfort for some.
Akemi Ujitani, among a group of people
gathered outside the Supreme Court
building, broke into tears when the ruling
was announced.
“This is about women’s human rights,”
she said. “This is not right.”
Indonesia deports 50 internet
scammers to Taiwan, China
JAKARTA,
Indonesia
(AP) — Indonesia has
deported 50 Taiwanese and
Chinese citizens who were
members of a cross-border
telephone and internet
fraud ring, officials said.
Immigration
official
Yurod Saleh said the 49
q
Tokita collects,
elaborately
decorates eggs
Continued from page 13
The one piece she said
she would grab if there
were a fire is a Faberge-
inspired piece called the
“Mosaic Egg.” It is covered
in colorful beads in an
embroidery-inspired pat-
tern of stripes and rings
encircling three pink roses.
In all of her travels,
Tokita said she has found
similar reverence for the
egg and what it symbolizes.
“I have found that almost
all cultures have placed
importance or significance
on an egg because it
represents new life,” she
said. “It represents spring,
fertility, and abundance.”
Taiwanese
and
one
Chinese were repatriated
to face charges in their
homeland. They have al-
ready spent two months in
Indonesian jails and have
been fined $770 for vio-
lating their tourist visas.
He said 419 Taiwanese
and Chinese citizens have
been arrested since August
in several major Indone-
sian cities for involvement
in cross-border telephone
and internet fraud. About
280 have been sent home
since October.
Jakarta police chief of
detectives Lt. Col. Krishna
Murti said the arrests
followed a tip-off from
Chinese police.
“They were committing
the crimes from Indonesia
to avoid being tracked
down by their respective
law enforcers,” Murti said.
No details about the
nature of the fraud were
given.
Such
scams
generally involve suspects
obtaining personal infor-
mation or prompting vic-
tims to transfer funds into
overseas bank accounts.
L OT
LOT
LO
O T T TER
TE E ER R Y G A AME
AM
M E S A RE
ME
R E BA
B A AS S E ED D O
BAS
ON N CHA
C CH HA
H A NCE
N CE
NC
C E AN
A N D S H HOU
HO
OU
O U L LD D B BE E PLA
P L LAA Y YE
YED
E ED D FO
F O R E N NT
NTE
T TE E RTAA INM
M ENT
N NT T ON
O N LY,
Y , NO
Y,
NOT
O T I NVE
NVESTM
VE STMENT
STM
TM
M ENT
N PU U RPO
NT
P O SES
E S . O DDS
ES
DDD DS AN
A N D P AY
AYOUTS
AYO
Y U UTS
T VA
V RY
R Y BY Y GAM
G AME E.
E .
Mark your calendar!
The Year of the Monkey
begins February 8, 2016.
Display advertising space reservations
for our special Year of the Monkey issue are due
Monday, January 18 at 5:00pm.
The Asian Reporter’s Lunar New Year special issue
will be published on Monday, February 1, 2016.