Expanding Use of Premarital Surnames: Aim to Introduce System That Won’t Cause Social Disruption

Editorial

16:41 JST, March 8, 2026

It is understandable that the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi aims to alleviate inconveniences for people who have changed their surname upon getting married by expanding their opportunities to use their premarital family name as a common name.

However, discussions within the government increasingly appear to have fallen into disarray. It is necessary to establish a system in a way that prevents social disruption from spreading.

The government is considering legalizing the use of premarital surnames during the current Diet session.

Deliberations were held in the Diet last year on bills submitted separately by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Democratic Party for the People to introduce selective separate surnames for married couples. However, the bills were scrapped when the House of Representatives was dissolved in January.

If separate surnames for married couples were permitted, as in the CDPJ proposal, it could result in some children having a different family name than one of their parents. In this situation, it could be difficult to maintain the family’s sense of unity.

People advocating for separate surnames criticize Japan’s peculiar rule of requiring married couples to share the same surname, but the nature of family names is rooted in each country’s history and culture. It seems facile to simply compare Japan’s practice to overseas cases.

From this perspective, it can be said that expanding the use of common names is reasonable. It is the specifics that are at issue.

Takaichi has instructed relevant ministers to consider a basic framework that will also allow the sole use of premarital surnames. On the other hand, she said in the Diet that requiring both premarital and shared surnames to be listed on official documents used for strict identity verification should be considered.

Currently, the surname listed in a person’s family register must be used on important identification documents, such as residence certificates, My Number cards and driver’s licenses, in principle. If desired, both surnames can be listed.

Even now, listing only birth surnames is permitted on certificates for certain national qualifications, such as lawyers. Takaichi might believe that widening the fields in which such sole listing is possible could accommodate the wishes of people who are frustrated with the dual listing of surnames.

However, the sole listing of premarital surnames has drawbacks, too. If only birth surnames are listed on identification documents that are used frequently in daily life, such as residence certificates and driver’s licenses, government entities may need to cross-check a person’s residence certificate with their family register when verifying their identity.

Similar issues would arise when signing various contracts, such as real estate transactions. If the registration of only premarital surnames is permitted, that would just increase the hassle and cause confusion instead of eliminating inconveniences associated with changing one’s surname.

Insisting to an excessive degree on the listing of just premarital surnames could even bring about discussions on whether to also list separate family names on the family register in order to avoid confusion.

Some financial institutions still do not allow accounts to be opened under premarital names. Legally obliging such entities to make efforts to allow the use of premarital names is one option.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 8, 2026)