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On Women’s Day, Japan activists renew demand for dual-surname option

On Women’s Day, Japan activists renew demand for dual-surname option

The Hindu
Wednesday, March 08, 2023 11:48:17 AM UTC

Activists say the one-surname requirement almost always forces women to compromise and go through the trouble of changing their names in official documents

Women's rights activists in Japan renewed their demand on March 8 for the government to allow married couples the option to keep both of their surnames, saying the current practice in which most women face social pressure to adopt their husbands' surnames — a prewar tradition based on paternalistic family values — widens gender inequality.

At a rally marking International Women's Day, representatives from dozens of women's rights groups delivered a joint statement to lawmakers urging them to do more to change the 125-year-old civil code, which forces married couples to choose one surname.

“We strongly urge the parliament to face the issue and promptly achieve a revision to the civil code,” the activists said in a statement they handed to lawmakers who also attended the rally in Tokyo.

Public support for a dual-surname option has grown, with surveys showing a majority now supports the option for married couples to keep separate surnames. Some couples have also brought lawsuits saying the current law violates the constitutional guarantee of gender equality since women almost always sacrifice their surnames.

Under the 1898 civil code, a couple must adopt “the surname of the husband or wife” at the time of marriage — which experts say is the only such legislation in the world. Although the law does not specify which name, 95% of women adopt their husbands’ surnames, as paternalistic family values persist and women are generally seen as marrying into their husband's household.

A 1996 government panel recommendation that would allow couples the option to keep separate surnames has been shelved for nearly three decades due to opposition by the governing Liberal Democratic Party.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s conservative governing party faces growing calls to allow more diversity in family values and marriage. Many in his Liberal Democratic Party support traditional gender roles and a paternalistic family system, arguing that allowing the option of separate surnames would destroy family unity and affect children.

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