In Japan today, the law requires married couples to use the same surname. Whether this should be changed to a system of optional separate surnames has become a topic of intense debate.
When a person changes their surname upon marriage, they must update the registration information for everything—from credit cards and driver's licenses to various public and private services. In practice, it’s almost equivalent to becoming a different person. To do this, people often have to take time off work to visit government offices, reapply for passports, and sometimes even pay additional fees. In 96% of cases, it is women who change their names. For many working women, this brings considerable inconvenience, and some continue using their maiden names professionally. Since their career has been built under their previous name, changing it offers no benefit.
Opponents of the change argue that a shared family name fosters a sense of unity and identity, strongly criticizing any move toward a dual-surname system. They claim that a common surname holds families together.
But is that really true? The current surname system only began about a century ago. At that time, most people in Japan did not even have surnames. There is no historical evidence that the lack of surnames caused families to fall apart. The “ideal family image” described by opponents is nothing more than a fantasy clung to by those who wish to resist change.
Many nearby countries allow married couples to keep separate surnames, and there is no indication that families in those societies are falling apart. That should come as no surprise.
If a couple divorces, the person who changed their name during marriage is often required to go through the process of reverting to their former surname. Who benefits from this? As mentioned earlier, 96% of those who change their names are women. All of these burdens fall disproportionately on them. As you might have guessed, those opposing surname reform are largely men—men who are not required to change their names whether they marry or not, clinging to an outdated notion of family that no longer reflects reality.
As you may know, Japan ranks 118th out of 146 countries in the Global Gender Gap Report. While Japan may be a great place to visit, it remains a very difficult country for women to live in.
tangentwithtanner
titsay
stormborns
ellievsbear
blakekathryn
