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For Akiko Saikawa, the administrative nightmare began soon after she married.
For Akiko Saikawa, the administrative nightmare began shortly after her marriage.
The office worker from Tokyo had to go through dozens of procedures to change her name on her passport and other documents, as well updating her social media accounts. All because she had been required, by law, to change her surname as a married woman.
This office worker from Tokyo has to go through dozens of procedures to change her name on her passport and other documents, as well as update her social media account. All this is because married women are required by law to change their surnames.
Couples in Japan are free to choose which surname to take when they marry, but in 95% of cases, it is the woman who changes her name, often with reluctance.
In Japan, couples are free to choose their family names when they get married, but in 95% of cases, it is the woman who changes her family name, usually reluctantly.
"It was very time consuming and inconvenient,” Saikawa says. “But the most troublesome part was that my name on our family register changed to that of my husband. That means I have had to make it clear to employers that I want to continue being referred to by my maiden name at work.”
"This is very time-consuming and inconvenient," Saikawa said. "But the most troublesome thing is that my family name on my household registration has become my husband's family name. This means that I must make it clear to the employer that I want to continue to use my maiden name in my work."
Now attention is turning to the archaic law that forbids married couples from using separate surnames, and the almost three decades of inaction after a government panel drew up proposals to change part of a civil code first adopted in the late 1800s.
Now people begin to pay attention to an old law, which prohibits married couples from using different surnames. After the government group drafted a proposal to change part of the content of this civil code, which was launched at the end of the 19th century, no action has been taken for nearly 30 years.
Inconvenience aside, campaigners say the insistence on using the same surname is another sign of Japan’s lack of progress on gender equality.
In addition to the inconvenience, activists said that insisting on using the same surname was another sign of Japan's lack of progress in gender equality.
Machiko Osawa, a professor and specialist in labour economics at Japan Women’s University, blames the lack of progress on “old-fashioned patriarchal attitudes” in the ruling Liberal Democratic party (LDP) and among supreme court justices “who insist on supporting an antediluvian status quo”.
Machiko Osawa, a professor and expert of labor economics at Japan Women's University, accused the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the judges of the Supreme Court of "persisting in supporting the old patriarchal attitude" and attributed the lack of progress to these factors.
"Newlywed women have to waste so much time changing their names on banking accounts, credit cards, passports and all other official documents. And for those who have established themselves as professionals, being forced to change their name is a denial of what they have accomplished. It sows confusion and subordinates them to men,” Osawa says.
Osawa pointed out: "Newly married women must spend a lot of time changing their names on bank accounts, credit cards, passports and other official documents. For those who have established their professional image in the workplace, forced name change is a negation of their achievements. This practice will cause confusion and make them subordinate to men."
Locked out of hotel rooms
Unable to enter the hotel room
After years of stalling, pressure is building on the LDP, not just from rights campaigners, but also senior business leaders who say the rule is proving an obstacle to Japanese firms that do business overseas.
The Japanese Liberal Democratic Party has been delaying for many years, not only under the pressure of rights activists, but also by senior business leaders, who said that this provision constituted an obstacle for Japanese companies conducting overseas business.
Masahiko Uotani, chief executive of the cosmetics giant Shiseido, said he knew of female executives who had been locked out of hotel rooms or denied admission to meetings on overseas business trips because their ID didn’t match their surname.
Yoshihiko Yutani, the CEO of Shiseido, said that he knew that female executives were refused to stay in hotel rooms or attend overseas business conferences because their ID cards did not match their surnames.
"The current system is becoming a barrier to career development for those who are internationally active,” Uotani said at a meeting of the Japan Business Federation, a powerful lobby group, according to the Mainichi Shimbun.
According to the Daily News, Yugu said at a meeting of the Japan Business Federation, "The current system has become an obstacle to career development for those who are active internationally."
The federation, known as Keidanren, has collected testimony from other professional women who have fallen foul of the single-name requirement. One said that having to change her last name “is ruining my career as the academic papers I’ve written under my maiden name are not being recognised”, according to the Mainichi. Another said: “In some cases, my business name has not been accepted when signing contracts.”
The Federation, known as the Economic League Federation, has collected testimonies of other professional women who are subject to the restrictions of the single surname requirement. According to the Daily News, one of the women said that being asked to change her surname was "ruining my career because my academic papers written under my maiden name were not recognized". Another woman said: "In some cases, my workplace name was not accepted when signing the contract."
Now Keidanren has thrown its weight behind the campaign in a reflection of a shift in Japanese corporate culture. While almost 84% of companies allow women to keep their original surnames in the workplace, according to a 2022 survey by the Institute of Labour Administration, the extra documentation needed on overseas work trips continues to cause confusion.
Now, the Japan Federation of Economic Unions supports this movement, reflecting the transformation of Japanese corporate culture. According to the survey conducted by the Institute of Labor Management in 2022, almost 84% of companies allow women to retain their original surnames in the workplace, but the need for additional documents when working overseas on business trips still causes confusion.
"I want it to be implemented as a top priority to support women’s working styles,” Keidanren’s head, Masakazu Tokura, said recently, declaring himself “bewildered” by the lack of progress since the ministry panel made its recommendation in 1996.
"I hope that it will be implemented as the primary task to support women's working methods." Yasuhiro Shikura, president of the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations, said recently that he was "puzzled" by the slow progress since the ministerial team made recommendations in 1996.
While the government has allowed maiden names to appear alongside married names on passports, driving licences and residence certificates, Japan remains maybe the only country in the world that requires spouses to use the same name.
Although the government has allowed the marriage certificate, driver's license and residence permit to display the maiden name and marriage name at the same time, Japan may still be the only country in the world that requires spouses to use the same surname.
Conservative LDP members argue that amending the civil code would amount to an assault on traditional values by “undermining” family unity and causing confusion among children.
Conservative Liberal Democratic Party members believe that the amendment of the civil law will constitute an attack on traditional values, "undermine" family unity and lead to children's confusion.
Osawa, who is “not optimistic” that recent pressure will lead to a legal change, dismisses the family values argument as an “excuse for inaction”.
Osawa is not optimistic. He thinks that the recent pressure will not lead to legal reform. He dismisses the argument of family values and thinks that it is just an "excuse for inaction".
"Japan’s divorce rate is on a par with that of the UK and Germany, so the current law on names is not supporting family stability,” Osawa said. “Times have changed, and most households need a double income to make ends meet, so having a choice for couples to decide what name to go by makes sense, and it promotes gender equality.”
"The divorce rate in Japan is comparable to that in Britain and Germany, so the current name law cannot maintain family stability," Ozawa said. "Times have changed. Most families need double income to make a living, so it is meaningful for couples to choose their own surnames, which promotes gender equality."
The prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has urged caution, claiming last year that “various opinions among the public” meant more discussion was needed to win “broad” support for the change.
Japanese Prime Minister Takeo Kishida urged all parties to act cautiously. Last year, he claimed that "public opinions are different" and more discussions are needed to win "broad" support for this change.
Saikawa hopes other women do not have to navigate the bureaucratic maze she faced after marrying. “Having separate surnames would mean they would no longer have to alter their name dozens of times, reset their careers and rebuild the reputation they had established under their maiden name,” she says.
Saikawa hoped that other women would not have to face the tedious bureaucratic maze after marriage as she did. She said: "Having different surnames means that they no longer need to change their names many times, start their careers again, and rebuild the reputation they built with their maiden names."
"And they would be able to cherish a name that represents their family’s history and is a part of their own identity.”
"They will be able to cherish a name that represents their family history and becomes part of their identity."
Source: China Daily
Editor: Lai Yingying
Senior Editor: Pang Bo
