Labor leader Tomoko Yoshino has expressed opposition to a proposal by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s administration to give legal validity to the use of former surnames after marriage.
The plan ¡°would not be a full-fledged solution (to the current situation in which married couples are forced to use the same family name),¡± Yoshino, president of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, or Rengo, said in an interview on Tuesday.
The surname issue is a ¡°matter of human rights,¡± she stressed, showing her intention to cooperate with political parties supporting the introduction of a selective dual surname system for married couples, including Komeito, former coalition partner of Takaichi¡¯s ruling Liberal Democratic Party and now in the opposition camp.
Yoshino claimed that Japan is the only country that obliges married couples to use the same family name.
Takaichi¡¯s inauguration as Japan¡¯s first female prime minister raised hopes that ¡°women¡¯s status will improve and their human rights will be secured,¡± but ¡°if things remain unchanged, it will be a real shame in the eyes of the world,¡± she said.
Yoshino said that Rengo ¡°will tenaciously ask¡± the government to introduce a selective dual surname system, emphasizing that this would give each person more choices in life.
She rebutted the views that a dual surname system would lead to family breakdown and make children feel unhappy, saying, ¡°Things like domestic violence and infidelity cause families to collapse.¡±
Yoshino serves as a member of the government¡¯s gender equality council. At a council meeting Friday, she opposed a draft package of proposals, including a study on giving legal validity to the use of former surnames. In the interview, Yoshino urged the government to address the issue ¡°carefully by putting emphasis on dialogue.¡±
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