CDP Submits Bill for Selective Surnames

   Tokyo, April 30 (Jiji Press)--The leading opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan proposed Wednesday a bill to allow married couples to choose different surnames.
   The bill to amend the Civil Code for the introduction of a selective surname system was submitted by the CDP alone to the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of the Diet, the country's parliament.
   As the first proposer of a selective surname-related legislation during the ongoing regular Diet session, the party hopes to heighten the momentum for revising a legal clause prohibiting spouses from using separate surnames on their family registry.
   But it remains to be seen whether the CDP bill can win support from other parties that advocate the broad idea of giving surname options to married couples but have their own opinions, critics said.
   Adopting the 1996 recommendations by the Legislative Council, which advises the justice minister, the bill stipulates that a married couple can have separate surnames and should decide at the time of marriage which parent's surname will be given to their child, or children, unless the couple adopts the same family name.

(2025/04/30-13:13)