
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 16, 1994                   TAG: 9402160059
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: TOKYO                                LENGTH: Short

FATHER RELENTS, WON'T NAME SON `DEVIL' NOW

Ending a six-month dispute with local authorities, a Japanese bar owner gave up efforts Tuesday to name his son "Akuma," or devil.

Shigeharu Sato, 30, withdrew his appeal against local officials who have refused to enter the name in Sato's family register, an official document required of all Japanese, said a spokesman of the Hachioji Family Court.

Authorities argued that the name would not conform to social norms and that the child would be stigmatized.

Sato said he wanted to make sure his child would stand out in a nation crowded with other Satos.

He did not disclose a new name for his son, but said he will register the name in a few days.

- Associated Press

by CNB