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According to Japan’s Supreme Court, it is now compulsory for married couples to have the same surname by law. This comes as a blow to a longtime effort for gender equality in choosing names in the country.
The law does not say which partner must give up his or her name in marriage. In practice, it has almost always been the woman who took the husband’s name. Some women say that it is unfair and that they feel as though their identity is lost.
However, some women have been using their maiden name professionally, even after their surnames are legally changed following marriage. Some others simply don’t register their marriages.
In a separate case, the Supreme Court ruled that prohibiting women from remarrying within six months is unconstitutional. Earlier, the courts intended that such a prohibition would prevent an already pregnant woman from marrying a different person.
But the court has now called it outdated because of advances in science. Tomoshi Sakka, a lawyer for that case quoted the court and said that technological advances such as DNA testing now provide proof of the biological parent.
The court found that a ban on remarriage for more than 100 days was excessive. Sakka said he was optimistic that it would be changed to less than 100 days by the Parliament.