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.
2 comments:
My family surname was rare, as was my husband's. So that wouldn't have worked with us. Interesting idea though.
There are a lot of administrative hassle with changing one's surname when getting married, but I quite like the idea that everyone in the family has the same name.
For couples who have different names, the big question is what name the children should get.
If I remember correctly, Egyptian couples keep their names after marriage, and the daugthers get their mother's name and the sons their fathers.
These days, when divorce and re-marrying are common changes, it must be a big fuss to have to change the names over and over again. And what about the children? I had a primary school student whose mother remarried and the daughter also had to change her surname. This was in the 1980s when divorce was still very unusual and stigmatic in Japan.
The girl said she hated having to explain why her name in 3rd grade was 'Tanaka' and 'Suzuki' in 4th grade. Even teachers' would raise their eyebrows and question the moral of her mother (no staying power!).
Now Asuniwa has come up with a unique solution. It would work well in Japan where matchmaking is still common.
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