Japan’s cabinet has approved a bill to revise a century-old civil code provision that prohibited women from remarrying for 6 months after a divorce.
The legislation, approved on Tuesday, shortens women’s waiting period for remarriage to 100 days in principle.
This is in line with a Supreme Court ruling last December that a period of more than 100 days is excessive and unconstitutional.
However, most women will likely be allowed to remarry earlier than the timeframe under the government’s bill.
It says those who are certified by a doctor as not being pregnant at the time of divorce will be exempt from the 100-day rule.
Those who are pregnant upon divorce will be able to remarry once they give birth.
The 6-month remarriage ban was originally aimed at preventing paternity disputes. Critics have said the rule unjustly limits women’s freedom to marry, at a time when DNA testing is available.
The new 100-day cutoff period was decided to ensure conformity with other civil code provisions on judging paternity that do not assume the use of DNA testing.
The government plans to enact the bill during the ongoing Diet session.
Source: NHK Video and image: ANN
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