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Only foreigners can keep their maiden name after marriage.

By on February 27, 2020

Marriage is not just about “I dos”.

There is one important issue couples have to sort out: “What do we do with our family name?”

Article 750 of Japan’s Civil Code requires couples to have the same family name after marriage. But the law exempts foreign spouses of Japanese nationals in practice which means they are free to keep their maiden name after marriage if they wish to do so.

On Wednesday, the Tokyo High Court turned down a lawsuit filed by four Japanese people who challenged the law imposed on couples to use the same family name. Yoshihisa Aono, the 48-year-old president of a software development company was one of them. In an article on Japan Times, he says,  “Our claim is very simple: Japanese citizens are supposed to be guaranteed equal rights, but people who marry foreign nationals are allowed to select their surnames and Japanese nationals aren’t given the same rights. We’re not treated equally.”

Judge Hideki Ogawa, who was presiding over the case, reiterated that the law under question does not prevent them from using their premarital surname as long as both husband and wife use the same.

Historically, it’s rare for men to give up their own name and take their wife’s maiden name. But with this ruling, that can happen.

There had been cases in old England, where men married wealthy women from elite families and took their wife’s last name.

About Ted Tanaka