Japan's name conventions and marriage equality

My mother has had five different names in her lifetime. On her original birth certificate, her first name has a distinctly German spelling, and her last name contains an umlaut, a symbol above a vowel to indicate the pronunciation. The diacritic disappeared when her family immigrated to Canada. At school, the spelling of her given name was anglicized. In her first marriage, she took my father’s surname and took her new husband’s name when she remarried. Today, we have different surnames because I continued to use my father’s name. She had the option to retain her name. But Japanese couples are forced to use the same surname, and in most cases, the husband’s name wins out.

The rest of the world

By custom and law in much of the world, it’s normal for women to retain their names for life. In my home country, Canada, women can opt to change or retain their names on marriage except in Quebec, where law requires that women be identified by their original name. The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, and his wife Sophie Gregoire (currently separated) have different surnames due to this provincial law. Nations follow the rule, too, including France, Netherlands, and by custom, South Korea, Spanish-speaking, and majority Muslim countries. Japan is an outlier when it comes to surnames.

In Japan, there is no provision for women to keep their original surnames on marriage. Hyphenation isn’t allowed, either. This year, Japanese business leaders got behind Japanese women’s rights to keep their maiden names, gathering signatures for a petition to overturn the law. 

A working woman's ID, photo Ono Kosuki

The case for keeping your name

The short answer is that your name is your identity. The law as it is reinforces the idea that women are subordinate to their partners despite the push for increasing the profile of women in business and industry. And losing or retaining that identity has far-reaching implications. For women who started careers before marriage, it’s a muddle. Their hefty resumes, copyrighted or patented material are under their former name and require endless explanation.

Another thing to consider is that the naming convention today only dates from the Meiji Restoration. The centralization of the government led to tax regulations that required all Japanese people to use surnames. In earlier times, the ruling class which bore surnames granted surnames to favored commoners.

I didn't marry my Japanese partner even though it would have been a way to receive the benefits (tax and social welfare, allowances, etc.). However, the idea of losing my name is daunting. Like a lot of Japanese working women, I have a career with licenses, degrees, and work history all under my name. Marrying and changing my name would sever my connections to my cultural heritage, too.

Marriage equality for all

Then there is the growing call for allowing same-sex marriage. In March 2023, the Sapporo High Court ruled that denying same-sex couples the right to marry is unconstitutional. While the court doesn’t have the power to change the constitution, its decision adds to the momentum to recognize marriage equality. Japan has a long way to go to protect the dignity of the increasingly diverse population in Japan.