It’s a moment advocates have worked towards for the past decade. This week, Japan’s Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) submitted a bill to allow Japanese couples to have separate spousal surnames. The Democratic Party For The People (DPFP) says it will also submit its own bill, though the contents remain unclear.
For background, Article 750 of the 1898 Civil Code of Japan requires spouses who are Japanese citizens to have the same last name. (Foreign residents – i.e., anyone without a koseki – are exempt.) In over 90% of cases, since most men don’t want to change their names, women end up changing theirs.
Over half of married Japanese women have said that, if allowed, they would keep their maiden names. While some companies allow women to use their maiden names, they still can’t use them on legal documents, leading to various procedural issues and even accusations of fraud.
Author Yuko Tamura wrote a first-hand essay for us a couple of years ago about the havoc the law has created in her own life. Japan’s Keidanren, the country’s largest business group, has also come out in favor of changing the law, arguing it hinders Japanese women’s progress in the business world.
So, what does the CDP law propose? And does it have a chance of passing?
