The District Court of Tokyo upholds the dual citizenship prohibition
On Thursday, a Japanese court upheld a ban on dual citizenship, dismissing a suit that questioned the constitutionality of the measure and demanded damages for those affected.
Japan is one of around 50 countries worldwide, including China and South Korea, that only allows one nationality to be held by its citizens.
Under existing rules, Japanese individuals who buy another passport are forced to forfeit their Japanese citizenship, but eight plaintiffs launched legal action in 2018, alleging that the regulation was unconstitutional.
One of them, Hitoshi Nogawa, told reporters it was a “painful experience.” to be asked to give up his nationality.
The Asahi Shimbun newspaper quoted him as saying, ‘I gained Swiss nationality because my work requires it, but I’m emotionally attached to Japan and this is the core of my identity.’
According to local media, the plaintiffs are six men who have already gained Swiss or Liechtenstein citizenship, and two Japanese men who seek international citizenship without losing their Japanese passports.
They claimed that the rule was a breach of the freedom of the Constitution to find happiness under the law and to uphold equality.
But on Thursday, their suit and appeal for damages were dismissed by the Tokyo District Court, a spokesman said, upholding the rule’s constitutionality.
There was no national interest in permitting multiple citizenships, the government argued, Kyodo news agency said.
With the rise to fame of tennis star Naomi Osaka, born in Japan to a Japanese mother and Haitian father but raised in the United States, the problem was brought into the spotlight.
Osaka had dual citizenship, but when she turned 22, she was legally forced to choose one nationality under Japanese law, while Japanese authorities were known to turn a blind eye to dual nationals under some circumstances. In 2019, the 23-year-old revealed she will renounce her U.S. citizenship.
Source: Japan Today
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