Same Surname Marriage Campaign

Japan might be the only country that requires married couples (both partners Japanese) to have the same family name. (Note, this law applies to Japanese couples, not foreign residents). Only about 5% of Japanese husbands take the surname of their wife. When a wife’s family has no male heir to carry on the family name is one instance when a husband may take a wife’s family name. 

One nongovernmental organization, Asuniwa, has turned to an unconventional idea - encouraging people to marry someone with the same family name. Although the organization advocates for optional separate surnames for couples, it has launched the Same Surname Marriage Campaign. The campaign has started by hosting matchmaking events (with IBJ, a matchmaking party company), limited to people with the same name. This really only works for people with names such as Sato, Suzuki, Takahashi, Tanaka, or other common names.  

An Asuwina survey conducted in 2025 estimates that about 587,000 people in common law marriage situations would legally marry if separate surnames were an option.  I’m sure there are many people who have no issue with changing their surnames, but it is a burden for the person who has to do the changing. The Same Surname Marriage Campaign sounds like an option for those with common surnames who don’t want to change names after marriage.