A Japanese high court has ruled that the country's nationality law that denies dual citizenship is constitutional, upholding a lower court decision that rejected a challenge by a Japanese-born U.S. citizen.
Yuri Kondo, 77, who resides in Fukuoka Prefecture in southwestern Japan, claims Article 11 of the nationality law, which stipulates loss of Japanese nationality if a foreign nationality is acquired by choice, infringes on her right to self-determination.
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."
Kondo told a press conference following the ruling she intends to appeal to the Supreme Court, saying that the high court "showed no interest in the difficulties I face in real life."
According to the ruling, Kondo, who was born in Japan, acquired U.S. citizenship 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 lower court turned down her challenge 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.
