Japanese are calling for change of 'married surnames' law: What is it?

Japan is the only country in the world with a law that requires spouses to use the same name.

Japanese people often get married around the age of 30, and when they do, they are compelled to give up the surnames they have used their entire lives.

Nevertheless, there is a growing desire for change following decades of resistance.

In particular, this is in response to the head of the biggest business lobby in the country endorsing a legal amendment that would permit married women to retain their maiden names.

Here’s all we know about the law and the row over it.

Century-old surname law in Japan

Japan is the only industrialised country where it is illegal for spouses to have distinct surnames because of its civil code, which requires married couples to share the same surname.

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The law was first introduced in 1898 during the Meiji era (1868–1922), when it was common for women in the country to leave their families and become a part of their husband’s family.

Even though spouses are free to take either name, gendered norms and outdated practices hinder an equal distribution of who takes whose.

As a reflection of the male-dominated society in the nation, over 95 per cent of women currently shed their maiden name, according to The Japan Times.

The long-standing debate

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All other countries began using dual-surname systems in 1975, the United Nations’ International Women’s Year.

With Turkiye following suit in January (women have been allowed to use their maiden name since 2014, but only after filing an appeal with a court), Japan is now the only nation that has not yet adopted this universally recognised global standard.

Japan remained firm even after the UN committee that monitors the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) expressed concerns four times – in 2003, 2009, 2013, and 2016.

As a result, the push in Japan to legalise different surnames has gained substantial momentum. The Equal Employment Opportunity Act and Japan’s acceptance of CEDAW gave it a boost in the 1980s.

In 1996, as per Japan’s national daily The Mainichi, the Justice Ministry’s Legislative Council also drafted a proposal to amend the Civil Code. However, bills for legal revision have not yet reached the Diet because of opposition from conservative members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

Some say, “It could lead to the breakdown of the traditional family system,” while others assert they are “concerned about negative impacts on children,” the report said.

Lawsuits alleging that the Family Registration Law and the Civil Code’s prohibitions on this option are unconstitutional were filed all around Japan in 2010. The Japan Times in 2018 quoted a commentary, “Events… have given rise to hopes that things may change.”

Nonetheless, the Supreme Court heard three instances in 2021 and always ruled that it was constitutional to require people to keep their married surname.

The issue of recognising distinct surnames has not advanced in nearly 50 years.

Growing calls for change

While the government allows maiden names to appear alongside married names on several documents, not much has changed. Data from 2021 shows that the administration has spent more than ¥17.5 billion (~Rs 967 crore) modernising its systems to enable the use of both names on identification documents such as passports, driver’s licences, My Number cards, and certificates of residency. Nonetheless, the couple’s common surname is still listed on the family registry.

According to a survey done in 2022 by Stanford University, 70 per cent of respondents agreed with enabling the dual-surname option, which is a record high of 61 per cent of respondents in a think tank connected with the welfare ministry.

Japan Women’s University labour economics expert Machiko Osawa attributes the lack of advancement to “old-fashioned patriarchal attitudes” in the ruling LDP and among justices of the supreme court “who insist on supporting an antediluvian status quo.”

The Guardian quoted Osawa as saying, “Newlywed women have to waste so much time changing their names on banking accounts, credit cards, passports and all other official documents. And for those who have established themselves as professionals, being forced to change their name is a denial of what they have accomplished. It sows confusion and subordinates them to men.”

According to a government poll, just 40 per cent of respondents said they were not inconvenienced by the system, indicating that many people find it problematic. Men and women faced challenges such as not being able to use their maiden name at work, getting stopped at foreign immigration offices, and not being able to open a bank account or obtain a driver’s licence.

The Mainichi quoted cosmetics giant Shiseido CEO Masahiko Uotani as telling at the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, “The current system is becoming a barrier to career development for those who are internationally active. Sometimes they’re shut out on overseas visits because their ID doesn’t match their names.”

The report cites testimony from other professional women collected by Keidanren who were unable to comply with the single-name requirement.

The Japanese daily quoted one as saying, “Having to change the last name is ruining my career as the academic papers I’ve written under my maiden name are not being recognised,” while another one said, “In some cases, my business name has not been accepted when signing contracts.”

Keidanren has now fully backed the campaign, reflecting a change in corporate culture in Japan.

Even though, according to a 2022 Institute of Labour Administration survey, nearly 84 per cent of employers permit women to use their original surnames at work, the additional paperwork required for international business travel continues to be a source of confusion.

“I want it to be implemented as a top priority to support women’s working styles,” Keidanren’s head, Masakazu Tokura, said recently as per The Guardian, declaring himself “bewildered” by the lack of progress since the ministry panel made its recommendation in 1996.

But, will the latest pressure lead to a legal change?

Osawa is “not optimistic.”  She dismisses the family values argument as an “excuse for inaction”.

“Japan’s divorce rate is on a par with that of the UK and Germany, so the current law on names is not supporting family stability. Times have changed, and most households need a double income to make ends meet, so having a choice for couples to decide what name to go by makes sense, and it promotes gender equality,” the reported quoted Osawa as saying.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has cautioned, saying last year that more discussion was necessary to gain “broad” support for the shift because of “various opinions among the public.”

With inputs from agencies