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	<< Back "DAWN" Newsletter of The DAWN CENTER < Japanese Women Seen through Data > Discussions on Surnames of Married Couples Sumie Uno Japan's current Civil Code stipulates that a newly-married couple must use the same surname. Legally, either the husband's or the wife's surname can be selected. However, in reality it is women who change their surnames after marriage in 98 percent of the cases. This change in most women's surnames causes a great deal of inconvenience in daily life. Women must renew license cards, passports, and other documents, including bankbooks. In addition, women must register new personal seals, which are an essential and inevitable part of Japanese society. In short, women must obtain a completely new identity. Because of this, a large number of women use their maiden names as pseudonyms whenever possible, especially if they have jobs, essentially resisting, as much as possible, the requirment for identical surnames. Resistance to the surname requirement is growing. The more women participate in the labor force, the more many feel resistance to the inconveniences caused by changing surnames. Above all, many women feel subordinated to the "ie" (patriarchal family) of their husband because of the change in their surnames. In addition, public opinion polls show that ever increasing numbers feel that couples should be able to use separate surnames if they wish. The Civil Code revision has been considered at the Committee for Discussion of the Legal System for six years. In the June, 1997 session, this bill was again fully deliberated. However, as no vote was held, the revision has again become null and void. Compared with many important bills passed in a short time, this revision has a profound meaning in Japanese society. Those against the revision say, as their main reason for opposing it, that "separate surnames will lead to the collapse of the family and the society." The Civil Code revision includes more than just a change in the law regarding separate surnames. In addition, the revision includes: (1) Changing the marriageable age to 18 for both men and women. The current law requires minimum ages for marriage to be 18 for men and 16 for women.(2) Setting the re-marriage prohibition period to 100 days after divorce instead of six months, for women only, under the current law. This remarriage delay period was established to avoid the ambiguity of paternity; a child born within 200 days after the marriage or 300 days after the divorce is presumed to be a child of the marriage. (3) Allowing separate living over five years as a grounds for divorce. (4) Eliminating discrimination in terms of inheritance against illegitimate children. The opinions of ordinary Japanese men and women on this issue can be seen in the results of a survey carried out by the government. On Freedom to Choose One's Surname After Marriage (from a poll on Family Law conducted by the government in June,1996) GRAPH 1 When asked about revision of the surname, 39.8% of the respondents chose, "A couple should have a single surname, and there is no need to revise the Civil Code." A total of 32.5% selected "Not against revising the law to allow either of couple to use their pre-marriage surname, when either of them wants," while 22.5% chose "A couple should use a single surname, but the law can be revised to allow husband or wife to use pre-marriage surname as pseudonym when he or she wants to use different name." These two groups, 55% of the total, indicate a growing acceptance of separate surnames in Japanese society. GRAPH 2 The 701 respondents (32.5%) who answered that they were not against revising the law, were also asked, "Do either you and your spouse want to use your pre-marriage surname if the law is revised?" To this, 16% answered "Yes," while 51.5% said "No." Acceptance of separate surnames is obvious, but whether individuals would take advantage of legalization of separate surnames is another issue. GRAPH 3 When asked, "What would you feel if your surname were changed at your marriage?" The highest percentage (43.4%) said, "I think I would feel a joy that a new life would begin." It is also interesting that there was a large difference in the response by men and women. Page Top Copyright (C) 2007 DawnCenter. All Rights Reserved.