Japan high court rules ban on dual nationality constitutional

Tokyo, Oct 11 (SocialNews.XYZ) A Japanese high court has upheld a lower court's ruling that the country's prohibition of dual nationality is constitutional, dismissing a claim by a Japanese-born US citizen, local media reported on Friday.

Plaintiff Yuri Kondo, 77, who resides in Fukuoka Prefecture in southwestern Japan, contended that Article 11 of the nationality law, which stipulates loss of Japanese nationality if a foreign nationality is acquired by choice, violates fundamental human rights related to the pursuit of happiness, self-determination and identity, as protected by the constitution, Kyodo News reported.

In Thursday's ruling, Fukuoka High Court Presiding Judge Gunichi Kurushima said there is "little necessity" to allow dual nationality, calling the purpose of the article "reasonable," Xinhua news agency, while quoting the report, said.

Kondo told a press conference following the ruling that she intends to appeal to the Supreme Court, saying that the high court "showed no interest in the difficulties I face in real life."

Kondo, who was born and raised in Japan, spent nearly 40 years working and raising a family in the United States, where she became a citizen in 2004. She applied for a Japanese passport in 2017 but her application was rejected the following year on the grounds that she had lost her Japanese nationality, the report said.

In 2022, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit at the Fukuoka District Court saying the nationality law's ban on dual nationality violates the equality clause of the constitution. However, the district court ruled the law was constitutional in December last year.

Eight people residing in Europe have also challenged the law's constitutionality, but they lost the case in the Supreme Court in September last year, according to Kyodo News.

Source: IANS