Demanded to Use a Japanese Name and Show a Passport... "Illegal"
"Lawsuit Filed to Set a Legal Precedent"
Local media in Japan have reported that a hotel in the country demanded a Zainichi Korean guest use a Japanese name. As a result, the Zainichi Korean guest filed a lawsuit for damages against the hotel.
The Mainichi Shimbun reported on the 22nd that a woman in her 40s, identified as Ms. A, who lives in Kobe and works as a university professor, experienced this incident at a hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo.
Ms. A, a third-generation Zainichi Korean, booked Hotel B in Shinjuku through an online site in September last year. At the time of booking, she provided her real name and her residential address in Kobe. However, when she arrived at the hotel to check in, the hotel staff requested that she show her passport.
According to the Enforcement Regulations of Japan's Inns and Hotels Act, when a foreign national stays at a hotel, the hotel is required to confirm the guest's name, nationality, and passport number. However, this regulation does not apply to foreign nationals who have a residential address in Japan, making the hotel's request illegal.
Ms. A explained, "I am a Zainichi Korean who was born and raised in Japan, so I do not need a passport," and instead presented her health insurance card and work business card. Nevertheless, the hotel continued to insist, "You must show your passport to check in." Even when Ms. A explained, "I have no reason to carry my passport with me, so I do not have it right now," the hotel did not accept her explanation.
Furthermore, the hotel made an unreasonable demand that Ms. A write a Japanese-style name, rather than her Korean name, on the check-in documents. Ms. A refused this request, and as a result, the hotel also refused her accommodation.
Ms. A subsequently filed a lawsuit with the Kobe District Court in Hyogo Prefecture, seeking 2.2 million yen (approximately 2.11 million won) in damages from the company operating the hotel in Shinjuku.
The Mainichi Shimbun reported Ms. A's claim that "the passport request constitutes unreasonable discrimination, and demanding a Japanese name is also a violation of human rights." However, the hotel argued that it was not discrimination, stating, "We requested the passport to confirm whether the guest has a domestic address."
Ms. A stated, "Forcing the use of a Japanese name is a repetition of the practice of forced name changes," and explained that she filed the lawsuit because "I want to establish a legal precedent so that others do not have to go through the same unpleasant experience as I did."
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