Japan Govt OKs Gender Equality Plan Featuring Maiden Name Use

Tokyo, March 13 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government on Friday approved its latest basic plan for gender equality, which calls for considering giving legal validity to the standalone use of maiden names, a key goal of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. It aims to submit legislation related to the sixth gender equality basic plan, which contains measures to be taken over the next five years, to the ongoing session of parliament. The plan stipulates that the government will “work to further expand the use of maiden names and raise awareness of this, considering institutional measures such as legislation enabling the standalone use of maiden names.” Under such legislation, people who change their surnames upon marriage would be allowed to write just their maiden names on official documents. But the prime minister has said that it would be necessary to consider seeking the dual use of new surnames and maiden names for “documents used for strict identity verification” such as passports, drivers’ licenses and My Number personal identification cards. The government is expected to mull the design of a system allowing standalone uses of maiden names, including the scope of documents covered, as it prepares to draw up a bill. “(Codifying maiden names) can further reduce the number of people who feel inconvenienced or disadvantaged in their daily lives,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a press conference Friday. Hitoshi Kikawada, minister for gender equality policy, said that the basic resident registration law would be one of those subject to revision under the planned bill. Meanwhile, Tomoko Yoshino, president of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, or Rengo, and a member of the government’s gender equality council, opposed the policy in a written opinion dated the same day. She expressed doubts about the effectiveness of codifying the standalone use of maiden names, warning that it could cause confusion in society. Yoshino called for the early introduction of a selective dual surname system instead. The gender equality basic plan maintained a target set out in the previous fifth plan of raising the proportion of leadership positions in society held by women to about 30 pct as early as possible this decade. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]