ID :
96914
Sat, 12/26/2009 - 23:15
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https://www.oananews.org//node/96914
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Justice minister to submit separate-surnames bill to Diet next year+
TOKYO, Dec. 26 Kyodo -
Justice Minister Keiko Chiba has decided to submit a bill to an ordinary Diet
session to be convened in January to revise the Civil Code so that married
couples can choose whether to have the same family name or keep their own
names, sources close to the matter said Saturday.
The envisioned bill is also likely to amend the current provision under the
Civil Code prohibiting women from remarrying within six months of a divorce,
the sources said.
Chiba has already conveyed her intention to the prime minister's office and
begun discussing with other Cabinet members concerned, they said.
The government and the ruling parties are expected to start coordinating on the
issue from the beginning of next year.
According to the sources, Chiba hopes to have the Cabinet give approval for the
amendment around March following consent from the Justice Ministry.
Under the planned amendment, the family name of any children of married couples
who opt to have separate surnames will likely to be unified with that of either
of the parents, the sources said.
As for the provision barring remarriage by women, the bill is expected to set
around 100 days as the period prohibiting women from remarrying instead of the
current six months, they added.
The Civil Code adopted the provision prohibiting women from remarrying within
six months of a divorce to avoid possible confusion in determining the father
of the child if the woman became pregnant during such a period.
However, the regulation has been criticized as outdated and discriminatory as
men are free to remarry anytime after a divorce.
In 1996, the Legislative Council, an advisory panel to the justice minister,
recommended that the government introduce a system allowing married couples to
choose separate surnames.
Although the Justice Ministry once compiled a bill to revise the Civil Code, it
gave up the idea of submitting it to the Diet due to opposition from the then
ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
The ruling Democratic Party of Japan, to which Chiba belongs, repeatedly
submitted to the Diet when it was in opposition an amendment bill to allow for
separate surnames for married couples, but it was scrapped each time.
The planned revision is also likely to scrap another discriminatory provision
in which a child born out of wedlock is entitled to receive only half the
inheritance that a child born in wedlock can, the sources said.
==Kyodo
Justice Minister Keiko Chiba has decided to submit a bill to an ordinary Diet
session to be convened in January to revise the Civil Code so that married
couples can choose whether to have the same family name or keep their own
names, sources close to the matter said Saturday.
The envisioned bill is also likely to amend the current provision under the
Civil Code prohibiting women from remarrying within six months of a divorce,
the sources said.
Chiba has already conveyed her intention to the prime minister's office and
begun discussing with other Cabinet members concerned, they said.
The government and the ruling parties are expected to start coordinating on the
issue from the beginning of next year.
According to the sources, Chiba hopes to have the Cabinet give approval for the
amendment around March following consent from the Justice Ministry.
Under the planned amendment, the family name of any children of married couples
who opt to have separate surnames will likely to be unified with that of either
of the parents, the sources said.
As for the provision barring remarriage by women, the bill is expected to set
around 100 days as the period prohibiting women from remarrying instead of the
current six months, they added.
The Civil Code adopted the provision prohibiting women from remarrying within
six months of a divorce to avoid possible confusion in determining the father
of the child if the woman became pregnant during such a period.
However, the regulation has been criticized as outdated and discriminatory as
men are free to remarry anytime after a divorce.
In 1996, the Legislative Council, an advisory panel to the justice minister,
recommended that the government introduce a system allowing married couples to
choose separate surnames.
Although the Justice Ministry once compiled a bill to revise the Civil Code, it
gave up the idea of submitting it to the Diet due to opposition from the then
ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
The ruling Democratic Party of Japan, to which Chiba belongs, repeatedly
submitted to the Diet when it was in opposition an amendment bill to allow for
separate surnames for married couples, but it was scrapped each time.
The planned revision is also likely to scrap another discriminatory provision
in which a child born out of wedlock is entitled to receive only half the
inheritance that a child born in wedlock can, the sources said.
==Kyodo
