Same-sex marriage hinders gender equality and women’s human rights
‘Couple Separation’ was blocked due to opposition from the Liberal Democrat Party
Keidanrendo and Kagawa Prefecture also need to “submit”
Marriage registration. Getty Image Bank
“Isn’t it right to use Hong Soo-bin as your granddaughter’s name?”, “Is it Hong Soo-bin, not Baek Soo-bin?”
This is an episode about the ‘family name’ which appeared in episode 1 of the recently broadcast popular television drama ‘Queen of Tears.’ This is a scene where Baek Hyeon-woo, an ordinary man who married Hong Hae-in, a third-generation chaebol woman from the large conglomerate Queens Group, is bitter at his father-in-law’s words that his future granddaughter will take . on the family name of her chaebol mother, not her father.
In Korea, it can appear as the last name issue of a couple that would only appear in a drama, but it happens often in Japanese reality. The issue of surnames often becomes a source of conflict in the process of preparing for marriage between a man and a woman who have made a promise to each other. This is because Japan has adopted a ‘same-sex couple system’ which is hard to find in the world. In Japan, at the time of marriage, one party must give up their last name. To reduce social conflict, there are calls to introduce a ‘selective couple surname system’ where couples can choose whether to use the same last name or keep their own, but they have yet to overcome the barriers of Japan’s conservative society.
In a scene from the TV drama ‘Queen of Tears’, the main characters are standing side by side. Provided by tvN
Rei Nakashima (pseudonym), a woman in her 30s from Gifu Prefecture, Japan, had to go through the pain of breaking off her engagement four years ago because of a problem with her last name. While promising to marry her boyfriend at the time, she revealed a secret that her parents run a large business in Gifu Prefecture. However, as the eldest daughter, I couldn’t change my last name because I had to take over my parents’ business, so I asked my boyfriend, “Can I change my last name?” My boyfriend promised to change his last name and it was difficult for his parents to convince him.
However, people around him did not leave him alone. The boyfriend’s father said, “It’s hard because so many people ask, ‘Why are you giving up your son’s last name?’ I want my daughter-in-law to change her last name.” With these words, their marriage became unprecedented. Nakashima changed her last name to her husband’s last name when she got married last year. She said, “I couldn’t ask my current husband to change because I was afraid sex would become a problem again. I don’t want to go through that pain again.”
In 95% of married couples, the woman gives up sex.
Why do Japanese people have to change their last name on marriage like Nakashima? Article 750 of the Civil Code Cause. The moment a marriage is registered, the couple must legally use the same last name. You cannot change your last name unless your marriage partner is a foreigner, divorced or widowed. It is a system where a married couple can use the same last name, so it is fine for the husband to take his wife’s last name.
However, it is very rare for a man to change his last name due to the social perception that he must keep his husband’s last name. According to a survey by the Japanese Cabinet Office Of the 504,930 married couples in 2022, 94.7% (478,199 people) of wives took their husband’s last name.It was. As the statistics show In Japanese society, there is a basic perception that ‘sex is for women to change’. The moment you advise your husband to change his last name, you have to endure uncomfortable stares. Chie Yoshimura (pseudonym), an office worker in her 20s living in Tokyo, said, “I wanted to keep my last name, so I asked my husband, ‘Can you change it?’ and my father-in-law found out about this.” He continued, “Before I got married, I asked my father-in-law, ‘I asked my father-in-law, ‘I want to keep this wayward child .’ you do that?’” he admitted.
Public opinion survey on the Japanese couple’s surname system. Graphics = Reporter Kang Jun-gu
If you change your last name, you will have to put up with some inconvenience for a while. You must change your last name on all documents such as your ID card, mobile phone, and bank book. The inconvenient task of waiting at the counter for hours for something that was not of her own choosing ends up being the woman’s responsibility. It’s been a year since Yoshimura got married, but he still hasn’t changed the name on his bank account. She said, “It takes a lot of time to change your name, and it’s not easy to find time while working and taking care of your family.”Why do only women have to do this?“He sighed.
There are also people who have to endure harsh stares just because they have a different last name. Children of divorced families are representative examples. If your wife changed her last name when she got married, she must return to her old name after divorce. When a mother is responsible for raising a child, the child must take the mother’s last name, and in this process, the family is revealed to be a ‘divorced family’.
The couple’s separate surname system has been discussed since 1991.
This is a picture from a video produced by the ‘Sync Name Project’, which is campaigning to introduce a selective surname system for couples in Japan. It states that if the same-sex system for couples is maintained, all athletes will wear Sato, the most commonly used surname in Japan. Reconcile YouTube capture Project Name
The same-sex marriage system is a system that is out of sync with the value of gender equality, and as frustration grows, an alternative has been developed. Selective couple separation systemAll. The idea is to let the couple decide whether to use the same last name or different last names. Social demand for the introduction of a selective marital separation system was formalized in 1991. The Legislative Council, an advisory body under Japan’s Ministry of Justice, began to review the selective marital separation system. It was not until 1996, five years after the review, that an official opinion was presented to the government to ‘amend the Civil Act to abolish the same-sex marriage system’. The Japanese government has also begun the work of revising the measure in accordance with the proposal of the Legislative Council.
However, Japanese society, which has strong conservative tendencies, did not accept it. Due to opposition from the Liberal Democratic Party, a conservative party with a long-term ruling system, the government could not even prepare a bill and propose it to the National Assembly. The Mainichi Shimbun said,The Liberal Democratic Party and the conservative camp oppose selective surnames on the grounds that it could lead to the collapse of the traditional family system or have a negative impact on child rearing (if families do not share the same last name).“He explained.
The Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida (second from right) arrives at an event held by the business group ‘Keidanren (Keidanren)’, a business group, held in Tokyo on December 26 last year and greets the attendees. Tokyo = AFP Yonhap News
Of course, changes have begun to occur in Japanese society recently. On January 17, Japan’s representative economic organization ‘Keidanren (Keidanren)’ publicly supported the early introduction of the separate system of the selected couple.I did too. This is the first time Keidanren has asked the government to implement a selective marital separation system.
From an economic point of view, the same-sex marriage system is recognized as a system that hinders the development of women in society. In order to maintain their careers, an increasing number of women keep their old surnames that they used before marriage, and in many cases, it is advantageous to continue using the old surnames. For example, in the case of women who sell, if they change their last name because of marriage, they have to explain it to all of their business partners. If the business partner is a global company, there may be a misunderstanding that the person in charge has been suddenly replaced due to a change in last name.
As for the reason why Keidanren asked the government to establish a selective marital separation system, ““For women who are active internationally, the same-sex marriage system is an obstacle to forming a career,” she said. “In some cases, researchers don’t acknowledge the results of papers they wrote before they changed their gender.”” He explained. As a result of Keidanren’s survey of 273 member companies in 2020 on ‘social systems that need to be reviewed or introduced to help women’s performance,’ 46 chose the ‘same-sex system for married couples.’
“I feel left out when I change my last name.”
On the 19th of last month, the ‘Whispering Group (Bosoboso Katarukai)’, which is campaigning for the introduction of a selective marital separation system in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan, submitted a written opinion to the government for the introduction of selective marital separation. system by all local government councils in Kagawa Prefecture on the 19th of last month, I posted an article saying that I chose to submit it to . Bosoboso Katarukai Ex Capture
On the 19th of last month Japan’s Kagawa Prefectural Assembly and the 17 local government councils in the prefecture submitted an opinion to the government stating that “legislation of the selective marital separation system is necessary.”I decided to do it. Among the 47 prefectures in Japan (corresponding to metropolitan governments in Korea), Kagawa Prefecture is the first to have the entire local government council adopt the process of submitting opinions.
Noriko Yamashita (51), representative of the Whispering Group (Bosoboso Katarukai), who campaigned for the adoption of the opinion in Kagawa Prefecture, said, “It is meaningful in itself that a local council has expressed the opinion that the marriage of the somehow the system should be changed.” “I got a call from an organization working to introduce a selective couple separation system saying, ‘Thanks to you, I can work harder.’ I expect this movement to spread further,” he said.
Recently, research results were released that surprised the Japanese people as well. Hiroshi Yoshida, a professor at the Center for Economic and Social Aging Research at Tohoku University, said on the 1st, Research results show that if the same-sex marriage system is maintained, the last names of all Japanese citizens will be united as ‘Sato’ by 2531.publish Sato is the most common surname in Japan. Professor Yoshida predicted, “Last year, the Sato surname increased by 0.83%, and if the number of people changing to the Sato surname increases due to the same-sex marriage system, 50% of Japanese people will have Sato in 2446, and 100% in 2531.”
As Japanese society slowly moves forward, the number of women who have hopes of being able to use their old surnames again is increasing. Although there are expectations that the inconvenience experienced in daily life will be reduced, Above all, the expectation of being able to regain identitymore. Yoshimura said, “When I submitted my marriage registration, I cried without realizing it because I thought, ‘I can’t use this last name anymore.’ I felt abandoned by society. I hope the day comes soon when I can use my old last name with pride.” “I hope you will come,” he said.
Tokyo= Ryuho Correspondent ho@hankookilbo.com
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