Japan Press Weekly

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2011 November 30 - December 6 TOP3 [CIVIL RIGHTS]

UN calls on Japan to eliminate discriminatory provisions against women from civil code

The U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) recently made a recommendation that Japan should revise its Civil Code within one year so that women can decide whether to keep their original surname after marriage, December 1 Akahata reported.

The U.N. recommendation called on the Japanese government to make the following amendments to the Code: change the legal minimum age for marriage to 18 for both men and women; create a system allowing married couples to have separate surnames; prohibit discrimination against out-of-wedlock children in regard to succession of property; and abolish the six-month rule prohibiting women from remarrying after divorce.

The government is also requested to report to the committee giving detailed information about affirmative action programs to increase the number of women in decision-making positions in Japan.

In the 2009 August CEDAW recommendation, Japan was required to carry out the revision of the Civil Code and deliver a report on the affirmative action programs within a couple of years.

Examining the Japanese government’s efforts in response to this recommendation, CEDAW cast a critical eye on the Japanese government because it did not fulfill its earlier promise to submit a bill to revise the Civil Code to the 2010 ordinary session of the Diet.

The Japan Federation of Women’s Organizations (Fudanren) Chair Horie Yuri said, “If there is no progress made in revising the Civil Code within the next year, the Japanese government will stand out for taking an insincere position toward its ratification of the U.N. convention banning discrimination against women. We will increase our efforts to achieve the revision of the Civil Code by making full use of the CEDAW’s latest recommendation.”