UN Calls on Japan to Permit Surname Choices for Married Couples

The United Nations has called on Japan to amend its legislation to allow married couples the option to choose whether they share a surname or keep their individual names. This recommendation aims to address concerns regarding individual rights and gender equality. The current Japanese Civil Code requires married couples to adopt one surname, a practice that has been criticized for its impact on personal identity and professional continuity, particularly for women.

• The UN urges Japan to change its Civil Code to permit married couples to maintain their individual surnames if they prefer.
• This move is part of broader efforts to promote gender equality and respect for personal identity within the country.
• Japan’s current law, mandating married couples to have the same surname, predominantly affects women, often requiring them to change their surname post-marriage.
• The recommendation aims to address and rectify issues related to personal choice and professional continuity for individuals within marriages.

NHK WORLD-JAPAN is “the international service of Japan’s public media organization NHK.” NHK World-Japan is operated by Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK). The goal of NHK World-Japan is stated as “to promote a deeper international understanding of Japan, introducing the latest events in Japan through news and other programs.”

“Overall, we rate NHK World-Japan Left-Center biased based on story selection that slightly favors the left. We also rate them High for factual reporting due to a clean fact check record.”

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/nhk-world/

Official website: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/

Original video here.

This summary has been generated by AI.