Interview with Justice Minister Takashi Yamashita, a new cabinet minister who wants to legislate “single maiden names”

In interviews with media outlets, Justice Minister Takashi Yamashita and Minister for Gender Equality expressed his desire to legislate a system that would allow people to use only their maiden name even after changing their name due to marriage.

Bill to allow maiden names to be written alone will be shelved in the current Diet session Coordination within the ruling party is difficult, giving priority to consumption tax reduction

-There are various opinions regarding the legalization of the use of maiden names.

The content of the bill is currently under consideration, but when it is submitted to the Diet, we would like to explain it in a way that conveys our intentions and design the system properly. I do not think that it is necessarily necessary to revise the Civil Code or the Family Registration Act.

-Can the disadvantages of people who request separate surnames for married couples be eliminated?

It is a big mistake to think that just because couples have adopted separate surnames, there is no need to legislate the use of maiden names. Even people who have not chosen a different surname naturally have a need to use their familiar maiden name in their social lives. The issue of selective alternate surnames and the issue of foundations, including the use of single maiden names, are two different issues.

-Will the problem of loss of identity due to name change be resolved?

I understand the issue of loss of identity and want to share it. A 2015 Supreme Court ruling pointed out that such disadvantages could be alleviated to a certain extent by the widespread use of maiden names, but this is not enough. Rather than using it as a common name, I would like to give it a legal basis (for my maiden name) and make it as clear as possible in which cases it can be used.

- What are your awareness of the issue of foreign policy?

I would like to do my best to smoothly implement the ``developmental employment'' system that will begin next April in place of ``technical intern training''. We want to deal strictly with illegal immigrants.

-What is important when discussing how to accept foreigners in the future?

We need to think about how many foreigners local regions can accept, and whether Japan has the systems in place to support them, rather than asking people to enter the country because there is a shortage of labor. We would like to think about how to accept foreigners in the medium to long term, while increasing Japan's ability to accept foreigners, such as by developing programs to learn the Japanese language and Japanese rules.