7 replies to this topic

[PrinceKamalKhan]

After watching You Only Live Twice again recently, I have a question in case there are any lawyers here who are experts on British, Japanese or international law: even though James Bond married Kissy Suzuki under a false name and was technically legally dead at the time, would she still be his wife in the eyes of the law?

This came to mind after both seeing the film and watching the "Welcome to Japan, Mr. Bond" special on the UE DVD extras where a woman(hinted to be Tracy) is obsessed with being the first Mrs. James Bond and trying to find out who she is.

[doublenoughtspy]

I think the fact that a false name was used and the whole marriage was a sham to begin with, it is legally null and void.

I have no idea about Japanese law, but I know here in the states, the religious ceremony is but one component - the marriage certificate has to be filed with the state for it to be considered a marriage under the law.

So my assumption would be that Bond & Kissy probably didn't fill out any paperwork - they just had the sham religious ceremony performed and therefore that is a 2nd reason why she isn't legally Mrs. James Bond.

[Single-O-Seven]

I think the fact that a false name was used and the whole marriage was a sham to begin with, it is legally null and void.

I have no idea about Japanese law, but I know here in the states, the religious ceremony is but one component - the marriage certificate has to be filed with the state for it to be considered a marriage under the law.

So my assumption would be that Bond & Kissy probably didn't fill out any paperwork - they just had the sham religious ceremony performed and therefore that is a 2nd reason why she isn't legally Mrs. James Bond.

But the son she had is certainly his...

[Donovan Mayne-Nicholls]

I think the fact that a false name was used and the whole marriage was a sham to begin with, it is legally null and void.

I have no idea about Japanese law, but I know here in the states, the religious ceremony is but one component - the marriage certificate has to be filed with the state for it to be considered a marriage under the law.

So my assumption would be that Bond & Kissy probably didn't fill out any paperwork - they just had the sham religious ceremony performed and therefore that is a 2nd reason why she isn't legally Mrs. James Bond.

But the son she had is certainly his...

Apples and oranges. Bond didn't marry Kissy in the novel.

[Dustin]

I have to say I never quite got the point of that maneuvre. Wasn't it entirely redundant? Why would it throw SPECTRE off Bond's scent if he married that woman? SPECTRE already knew the death of Bond was a red herring, the ceremony could hardly have been a better cover. I wonder what Dahl was thinking there?

[DamnCoffee]

The whole thing doesn't make sense. Also don't understand why Bond has to become Japanese either. Especially since Spectre knows he's alive. The whole thing is just pointless.

[Major Tallon]

I think the fact that a false name was used and the whole marriage was a sham to begin with, it is legally null and void.

I have no idea about Japanese law, but I know here in the states, the religious ceremony is but one component - the marriage certificate has to be filed with the state for it to be considered a marriage under the law.

So my assumption would be that Bond & Kissy probably didn't fill out any paperwork - they just had the sham religious ceremony performed and therefore that is a 2nd reason why she isn't legally Mrs. James Bond.

A quick internet searach indicates that the answer to the question is "no." To be valid anywhere, the marriage must be valid in the place where it is performed. Therefore, Bond and Kissy's marriage would be valid only if valid under Japanese law, and DNS is correct that the absence of the required documentation is fatal.

Japanese law appears to require that the Japanese party in such a marriage present a certified copy of their family register, and the non-Japanese party needs a "Certificate of Eligibility to Contract Marriage," plus a passport and a "Certificate of Alien Registration." In the absence of these documents, the sham ceremony wouldn't create marital status between the parties.

By the way, not all US marriages require formal documentation. A small number of our states recognize common law marriages, which involve the agreement of the parties to be married, living together in a marital relationship, and holding themselves out as husband and wife. In states that recognize common law marriage, this is an actual marriage and not just a fancy name for living together.

I know someone who entered into a valid common law marriage, after which the parties just split. The parties never obtained a legal divorce, and the wife later entered into a ceremonial marriage. She was astonished to learn that this second marriage was bigamous, and legally null and void.

[Dustin]

The whole thing doesn't make sense. Also don't understand why Bond has to become Japanese either. Especially since Spectre knows he's alive. The whole thing is just pointless.

Well, that Japanese cover was probably supposed to make Bond unrecognisable (like the horn-rimmed glasses in OHMSS). But there are two attempts on Bond's life after he acquired the disguise and only then Tanaka decides he's to marry Suzuki on top of his already shredded cover, that's what makes it so odd in my view. As if some part here was missing or the course of events had been changed.

Edited by Dustin, 04 December 2011 - 05:36 PM.