Name and Surname in Anthropological Perspective : Towards the Introduction of a System to Allow the Choice of Surnames for Married Couples in Japan

More than thirty years have passed since discussions began on the introduction of a system to allow the choice of surnames in Japan. In 1898, a law was introduced in Japan stipulating that a wife had to change her surname to her husband’s. After WWII, the family law based on the patriarchal idea was criticized and the family law was reformed on the idea of gender equality. The law requires that married couples should have one surname, either the husband’s or the wife’s natal surname, and create one separate family register. In fact, most Japanese couples have taken their husbands’ surnames. Accordingly, many Japanese women have faced significant inconvenience in their public lives with the change of surname. SEDAW has recommended several times that the Japanese government should introduce a system to allow the choice of surnames. Nevertheless, this has not yet been realized. Japan is now the only country in the world which forces married couples to adopt only one surname. Majority of parliamentarians in the Liberal Democratic Party have insisted that the present rule conforms to Japanese tradition, which maintains family unity. Here I have made a comparison of customs and rules about surnames in different cultures to demonstrate the possibility of the introduction of choice in surnames