Photo/Illutration The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women examines Japan's progress on a range of issues at the European Headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, on Oct. 17. (Mizuho Morioka)

When getting married, both the husband and the wife can choose the surname they want to be called by. They can share the same surname, or each can keep theirs.

Either is perfectly fine and nobody is going to be judged for their choice.

Then, why is this still not the case in reality?

That is the question that is always asked by people who are pushing for the introduction of a system that allows selective surnames for married couples. And it seems pretty clear that this system could not possibly harm anyone's interest.

The U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) last month recommended, for the fourth time, that Japan adopt the system.

And earlier this year, Keidanren (the Japan Business Federation) also called for its early implementation.

But it is still not happening because of stiff resistance from certain Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers. Their stated reason is that the system will damage Japan's "traditional family values" and destroy "family unity."

They maintain that once a family starts using different surnames, that would "destroy the family bond," leading to the "collapse of society that has always been made up of family units."

And that, they argue, will eventually result in the elimination of the nation's traditional "koseki" family register system and force a review of various related systems.

Some LDP lawmakers even say that children whose surnames are different from their parents' should be "pitied."

It is as if those individuals are trying to transport us back to the time of the old "ie seido" (family system) that was supposedly abolished with the postwar revision of the Civil Code.

Reportedly, their opposition to allowing married couples to choose separate surnames is in line with the wishes of conservative organizations such as Nippon Kaigi (Japan Conference) and the former Unification Church, which now calls itself the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.

In terms of tradition, the current "one surname for every married couple" setup originated in the 1898 Meiji Civil Code.

That's less than 130 years ago, which is pretty recent. During the Edo Period (1603-1867), most Japanese citizens didn't have official surnames, but I do not think that meant people felt no "family unity."

People who are calling for selective surnames for married couples have various reasons, including the inconvenience in their jobs and a sense of loss of their identity.

While it is important to get rid of those daily inconveniences, we also need to remember that the real root of the problem lies in some people's fossilized value system, and that's what must be changed.

—The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 4

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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