Antti and June blog on the recent moves to change legislation of the Household register system. There’s a while yet till this new legislation kicks in, but it will make some potentially big differences in the legal status of women and children.

As June mentions, this is one system among many that need to be addressed, but nonetheless, it sounds (from their descriptions) like it could end up being a step in a good direction—I’m not sure I’m in a position to dictate the “right” direction, as an outsider, but it seems like a positive step towards nurturing of a more egalitarian society here, and therefore I feel no compunction about calling it “good”.

In any case, use those links above, to get more information on the law that was passed yesterday (March 2nd).