Sep 28 (Kyodo) - The coronavirus pandemic has heightened distress felt by unmarried Japanese couples in long-term relationships as they face the prospect that, should one become ill, they would not be afforded the same rights as married couples.
Uncomfortable about relinquishing their respective family names, they felt their only option was to remain common-law couples. For this reason, they want a change made to the civil code that would give them legal recognition as a family, changing a requirement that Japanese married couples share a name.
"We prepared our marriage document immediately after April's declaration of a national emergency against the virus," said a 46-year-old nurse who has been with her common-law husband for 19 years, gazing at the document, mostly filled out but with the space for the family name remaining blank.
Japanese husbands or wives can take their spouses' last name, but according to the labor ministry, 96 percent of those who give up their family name are women.
The nurse said that her last name is an integral part of her identity.
She built her professional life with the name she has always known, including publishing writing under it, and changing seemed like "being cut off from my career," especially without assurances that employers would allow her to retain her maiden name.
Her husband did not wish to change his either, and out of mutual respect, they felt obliged to go the common-law route.
Their three children have her husband's name, and the family has never felt that having different names makes them less of a unit, an argument often trotted out by conservative lawmakers who have campaigned to maintain the status quo while holding political sway for decades.
The lack of legally recognized ties has left her unable to claim spousal tax deductions, and parental and inheritance rights concerns remain.
