Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at the Diet on Dec. 3. (Takeshi Iwashita)

Despite calls to allow married couples to use dual surnames, the government is preparing a bill that would legally recognize an original surname after marriage while continuing to require couples to adopt the same family name.

According to government sources, the bill will be based on Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s proposal, which would require national and local governments, as well as businesses, to accommodate the use of birth surnames in daily life.

The legislation, expected around March, aims to reduce legal hurdles and daily inconveniences associated with using two surnames, particularly for wives.

However, critics argue that the move could undermine political momentum toward advancing gender equality by permitting separate surnames, a common practice outside Japan.

In Japan, married couples are required to share the same surname. While either partner’s surname can be chosen, nearly 95 percent of women take their husband’s family name.

To avoid being disadvantaged in their careers and to preserve their identity, many women continue using their maiden name in professional settings.

However, they are still required to use their married surname on official documents, creating difficulties such as when opening bank accounts or presenting passports at immigration.

Takaichi’s conservative stance on preserving traditional family values is shared by her political partners.

The bill follows an agreement between her Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party), to establish a system that grants legal validity to original surnames in all aspects of social life, while continuing to allow only one official surname for married couples.

The issue of selective separate surnames has been debated for decades.

In 1996, an advisory panel to the justice minister recommended introducing the system, but strong opposition from conservatives stalled progress.

Calls for reform have grown in recent years, particularly from the business community, which argues that surname changes can cause identity loss and practical difficulties in professional settings.

Earlier this year, the leading opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Democratic Party for the People each submitted bills to introduce selective separate surnames, marking the first time in 28 years that the Lower House debated the issue.

Divisions within the LDP on the issue prevented the party from drafting its own legislation, paving the way for the government-submitted bill instead.

Takaichi hopes to secure passage of the proposal despite the LDP’s minority status in the Upper House. If smaller parties such as the right-wing Sanseito lend their support, the bill could become enacted as law.

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