Bill Eyed in Japan to Legalize Use of Former Surnames

Tokyo, Dec. 3 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government and the ruling camp are considering submitting a bill to legalize the use of former surnames by people who changed their original family names upon marriage, informed sources said Wednesday. The bill is likely to be submitted to next year’s ordinary parliamentary session, to be convened in January. It is expected to be based on a draft bill prepared privately by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi before she took office in October. In a coalition agreement, the Liberal Democratic Party and its partner, the Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin no Kai), said they would submit a bill to legalize the use of former surnames to the regular parliamentary session in 2026 for enactment during the session. “Based on the agreement, the government is conducting necessary examinations in cooperation with the ruling parties,” Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kei Sato said at a press conference Wednesday. As legalizing the use of former surnames presupposes maintaining the current system requiring married couples to use the same surname, it has drawn criticism from the leading opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and other parties that have advocated the introduction of a selective dual surname system for married couples. The plan may also face opposition from some LDP members who favor the introduction of a selective dual surname system. Cases allowing the use of both former surnames and married surnames for documents, such as passports and driver’s licenses, have increased in the country. In many other cases, however, such as when opening bank accounts, people are required to explain their reasons for using former surnames. Against this background, the prime minister announced a draft bill as her private proposal in February, calling for allowing people to write their former surnames on their resident registers without affecting their family registrations. The JIP has prepared legislation to allow people to record former surnames on family registrations, while enabling the use of former surnames alone in documents including passports. The government and the ruling parties are expected to hold discussions based on the two proposals. Those who support the introduction of a selective dual surname system have stepped up their criticism. Satoshi Honjo, policy chief of the CDP, argued that the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, and other organizations are calling for the introduction of a dual surname system. Meanwhile, Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, said, “It is not necessarily a bad bill if it leads to the elimination of inconvenience.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]