Japan’s top court rules couples must use the same surname

 

日本最高法院裁定夫妻必須同姓

【摘要2021.10.1.五.自由】◎張沛元

Japan’s top court on Wednesday threw out a challenge by three couples who wanted to keep their own surnames after marriage, ruling that laws stipulating Japanese couples must choose one family name were constitutional, according to local media.

根據當地媒體，日本最高法院週三不接受3對要在婚後延用自身本姓的夫妻所提出的質疑，裁定規定日本夫妻必須選用單一姓氏的法律合乎憲法。

It’s not the first time this debate has come up － the Supreme Court rejected a similar lawsuit in 2015, filed by five plaintiffs who wanted to make it easier for women to keep their maiden names.

這並非（最高法院）首度審議此一爭論－－最高法院曾在2015年時駁回類似訴訟，當時5名原告主張要讓女性（婚後）能更容易保留原姓。

The 19th century law doesn’t specify which spouse should change their surname, but an overwhelming majority of women take their husband’s.

此一19世紀的法律（指夫妻同姓法）並未指定夫妻中的哪一方必須更改姓氏，但絕大部分女性（婚後）改用夫姓。

Many women, gender equality experts, and even a United Nations committee have called these laws outdated and called for change

許多婦女、性別平等專家，以及甚至是聯合國的一個委員會，皆稱該法過時與要求更改。

新聞辭典

throw out：慣用語，丟棄，扔掉；拒絕接受，否決（計劃或想法）；拒絕受理（案件）。例句：The government threw out the penal’s recommendations on COVID-19 booster vaccines.（政府不接受小組委員會針對武漢肺炎疫苗加強針的建議。）

specify：動詞，明確指出，具體說明。例句：Please specify your question.（請具體說明你的問題。）

outdated：形容詞，過時的。