The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday rejected a damages suit filed against the state by five people who claim a Civil Code article that forces married couples to choose a single surname contravenes the Constitution.
In the first suit to contest the constitutionality of the Civil Code's Article 750, which was enacted in 1947, presiding Judge Masako Ishiguri turned down a claim of damages worth some ¥6 million in total by the five, aged 36 to 77, saying the Constitution "does not guarantee the right to use separate surnames."
Article 750 says a husband and wife shall adopt the surname of either at the time of marriage.