Japanese Women Now

Compulsory Selection of a Family Name for a Married Couple

By YOSHIOKA, Mutsuko
Lawyer

The Civil Law of Japan provides a system of surnames that a newly married couple compulsory selects either of husband's or wife's original surname, and them to have the same surname during their marriage. This system was created shortly after the World War II (1947), in order to maintain the individual dignity and the basic gender equality promised in the Constitution of Japan. Having a pre-war system that forced wives become members of the husbands' families, and had no choice but to accept husbands' surnames, it was considered as an amendment for the benefits of women. Originally this revised system was created to assure greater gender equality, as an equal opportunity is given in selection of the surname between both parties, but actually it has not resulted in greater gender equality in the true sense. Even now, approximately 98% of married couples still choose the husbands' surnames and most wives are expected to change their surnames -voluntary or forcefully- when they get married.

Movements to pursue separate surnames for a married couple

With the active participation of women in workforces and growing awareness of gender equality, more and more women have come to feel that present system of surnames selection for married couples is not fair for women. As the average age of the first marriage of women rises, more women have years of experience at work when they get married. Women started to voice their inconvenience due to this system, as they have to change their socially recognized surnames they have been using at work, and because it is also quite distressing to change surnames they have accustomed to use from their childhood.

Since 1980s, women's movements began to call for a legal system that allows a married couple to make a choice whether to have one or separate surnames for themselves, and it has been gathering momentum gradually.

When the Japanese government ratified the Convention for Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1985, it was pointed out that the above-mentioned system of Japan might be a violation of the Convention. These arguments and movements, however, did not lead to amendment of the law until now.

Movement towards amendment of the law

In 1991, the Legislative Council, an advisory body of the Minister of Justice, started deliberations on possible amendment of the existing civil law concerning the problem of surnames of married couples. After five-year deliberations, the Ministry of Justice publicized an outline of a proposed amendment to the civil law in February 1996. This proposal included an introduction of a system that allows a married couple to use separate, original surnames of both parties. Besides, the proposed amendment encompassed elimination of discrimination against children of unmarried couples as heirs at law (meaning that they can take legal portion of inheritance equally to children of a married couple), equalization of the legal age at which men and women are allowed to get married (the age should be 18 for both sexes, although presently 18 years of age for men and 16 years of age for women), and a shorter period during which women are not allowed to remarry after divorce (from 6 months under the existing law to 100 days). This proposed amendment was supposed to be introduced to the Diet during the same year, 1996. However, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party at that time could not reach an agreement on the amendment because of a cautious approach towards these revisions persistent within the party, resulting in the proposed amendment to be shelved. Since then until 2001, the opposite parties presented similar proposals to the Diet as a legislation proposed by lawmakers almost every year, but it has not been approved yet.

Why there is so strong opposition against two different surnames for one married couple

In Meiji period (1867-1912), the family registration system called "Koseki" had been firmly established as a part of the policy for enhancing the wealth and military strength of the country. This Koseki system had contributed to forming the family system peculiar to Japan, developing both an establishment and awareness that regards the relations between the Emperor and the people as one large family. Surnames were also understood as something that represents families, so that people still tend to connect surnames with the family identity. Therefore, the greatest reason people who are against separating surnames emphasize is that separate surnames may weaken a sense of unity of a family, which might lead to a fragile structure of the family. This indicates a preconception that having only one surname per family strengthen bonds between husband and wife as well as parents and children. There is a conspicuous difference in perception between men and women as well as across generations. Women, especially younger women think strongly that surnames are so personal that selection of their surname should be left to the couple. On the contrary, opposition forms a larger percentage among the aged. As more and more people are staying unmarried longer and having fewer children, it is important for the Japanese society to pay respect to younger people's wishes as well as views on marriage, and allow them to have as many options concerning marriage as possible in the future.

More women have come to used their maiden names for convenience

Since two different surnames for one couple are not acceptable as a public system, an increasing number of women have come to use their maiden names for their business and as members of society, although they chose their husbands' names when they registered their marriage. Official uses of maiden names have become acceptable by many companies in workplaces that employ many women, such as the service industry, in comparison with other industries. Municipal governments also have come to allow their employees to use maiden names one after another. Furthermore, in October 2001, the Japanese government presented a policy to allow the use of maiden names by central government employees.

Thus, the use of maiden names is becoming as an established practice. However, it is also true that women faces limitations for having two surnames, namely surname in the family register and surname they use as members of society, may create confusion or inconsistency because of maiden names being allowed to use in only limited parts of their life.

Also, the number of couples who lead their marriage life without registering their marriage in order to use separate names, which can be termed as de-facto marriage, is gradually increasing. Yet, they have to suffer disadvantages, such as their children being treated as children of an unmarried couple and spouses being deprived of their rights to inheritance.

Consequently, the civil law should be amended to provide a legal system that a married couple can choose whether they would maintain their own surnames or they select either one of surnames for both of them to use.

Recent developments

The public opinion survey on separate surnames for a married couple conducted in May 2001 showed that those who agree to the amendment have increased from 32.5% in 1996 to 42.1%, and if combined with the percentage of those who accept the use of maiden names for convenience, 65.1% support separate surnames.

Future developments are unpredictable, but if the largest political party (LDP) is unified toward accepting such an amendment of the civil law, there is a good possibility. It is thus we have to pay close attention to how the Diet will deal with this problem in the future.

YOSHIOKA, Mutsuko:A lawyer. Registered inTokyo Bar Association in 1979. Co-author of Kekkon ga kawaru, kazoku ga kawaru (Nihonhyoronsha, 1993), Nihon no josei to jinken (Akashishoten, 1995), Hito ha dareto ikirunoka: kazoku wo meguru 6shou (Takarajimasha, 1995), Oyako no toraburu Q&A (Yuhikaku, 1995), etc.

WOM has been working on the initiative Japanese Women Now in order to provide information about contemporary legal/social environment surrounding Japanese women. It is our hope that information on this page help readers gain further understandings on gender issues in Japan.

Authors of articles contributed to this initiative are active and knowledgeable members of the respective fields of selected topics. The contents are based on the fact available as of late 2001, when these articles were written. The original Japanese articles are also available on our Japanese Home Page.

Topics selected in this initiative are: Domestic Violence, Compulsory Selection of a Family Name for a Married Couple, Elderly Care and Women, Women and Work, Sexual Harassment in Working Place, Sexual Harassment on Campus, Equal Employment Opportunity Law, Single Mothering, Child Abuse, Women and Medical Care, and Reproductive Health/Rights. ===＞GO to Index

This initiative was made possible by the grant from Asian Women's Fund.