What are these vertical lines called in Japanese?


I was reading the newspaper and saw these vertical lines. I'm guessing it's
saying that 川上尚志 is in 広州 or something along those lines. But my question is
what are they called and why they are used instead of say the
interpunct/中黒（・）or a black dot （●）[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/HNH5Y.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/HNH5Y.jpg)

EDIT: Okay looking at the [electronic
version](https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGKKZO55889150Q0A220C2MM8000/) it
seems that it might just be an equals sign:

> 広州=川上尚志

However, I don't see anything on Google about a vertical equal sign 垂直イコール or
something like that, so the naming and usage are still something I'd like to
know.




The correct name is そうちゅうけい（双柱罫) . It's often called ダブルハイフン or イコールサイン, only
because most ordinary natives wouldn't know its actual name, and it does look
like either of them. But technically, it's a different sign with different
meaning.

<https://ja.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%8F%8C%E6%9F%B1>




This is a double hyphen (＝), rendered vertically because the text is written
vertically. The mark is called a ダブルハイフン in Japanese.

The double hyphen in Japanese is typically usually used to separate hyphenated
names from other languages (e.g. the name of anthropologist Claude Levi-
Strauss would be rendered クロード・レヴィ＝ストロース in katakana). From time to time, it
is used as in the same way as the middle dot ・ (as this entry notes
[https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/ダブルハイフン/#jn-138522](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/%E3%83%80%E3%83%96%E3%83%AB%E3%83%8F%E3%82%A4%E3%83%95%E3%83%B3/#jn-138522)).
Its function therefore is to on some level to simultaneously connect the
concepts, but separate the words themselves for readability.

In any case, here it is being used to connect the concept of the place (広州,
where the person is), to the person's name (川上尚志), as is typical at the
beginning of newspaper reporting. I'm not sure here why the choice was the
double hyphen, but it may just be the house style of whatever newspaper you're
reading?

