2025 POLLS: De Facto Married Couple Seek Early Introduction of Dual Surnames

   Tokyo, July 11 (Jiji Press)--One of the main topics in the July 20 House of Councillors election in Japan is the proposed introduction of a selective dual surname system for married couples. A couple who chose de facto marriage to avoid changing their surnames are calling for the system's early introduction in the country.
   The Legislative Council, an advisory panel to the justice minister, proposed a bill to revise the Civil Code in 1996 that includes the introduction of a selective dual surname system.
   However, even more than 30 years after the proposal, the revision has not yet been realized.
   In May this year, bills related to the system were deliberated at the House of Representatives' Judicial Affairs Committee for the first time in 28 years, but the panel failed to hold a vote on them. The legislation is set to be discussed at an extraordinary parliamentary session expected to be held this autumn.
   The U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has urged the Japanese government to introduce the system four times.

(2025/07/11-19:31)