Join Us in Making a Change

     In Japan, a married couple must share a single surname, either the wife’s or the husband’s, to be used by all family members. Although this law does not say who must change their surname—the wife-to-be or the husband-to-be—but in reality, 95% of the time, women are the ones who undergo the surname change, often reluctantly, being pressured by family and acquaintances. Our goal is to abolish the law that underlies this one-surname-per-family system by 2025.

     This reform would be the first step toward creating a gender-discrimination-free society in which every individual can live freely and comfortably, irrespective of their gender.
     This law squarely violates the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), to which Japan is party. Japan thus has an international obligation to abolish this system. The Committee that is in charge of reviewing Japan’s compliance (or non-compliance), based in Geneva, has already urged Japan to abolish this law in 2003, 2009, and  2016. The Japanese government undertook many law reforms to rectify other gender-discriminatory policies and laws, but this law has not been one of them.

     To gain momentum for the law reform, Asuniwa is planning to submit its report to the CEDAW Committee so that the Committee members get the full picture and extent of harm the law has caused and how women’s rights are violated by this law. After submitting the report, we aim at sending  a delegation to participate in the CEDAW Committee’s review of Japan, scheduled in October 2024 at the UN European Headquarters in Geneva. Our delegation consists of bright Japanese women of all ages with diverse backgrounds, from seasoned human rights advocates to some bright students who are to be future leaders in the field of gender equality in Japan. By participating in the Japan review, we will show our presence and advocate for change through direct interaction with CEDAW Committee members to elicit strong recommendations urging Japan to go through with the law reform. 

Support Our Cause

     We need your help to send the team to Geneva to advocate for the abolition of the law.  By contributing to our crowdfunding campaign, you can support Asuniwa's efforts to advocate for this crucial change on the international stage. We can work together to create a more equal society.

My Name. My Choice. My Right.

     Asuniwa is a Japanese NGO that aims to liberate our society from gender discrimination. Our first goal is to abolish the Japanese mandatory one “family name” system, under which a couple must choose a single “family name” upon marriage. This policy has resulted in a situation where many women have to abandon their surnames upon marriage, reluctantly or against their will. We believe abolishing this policy is the first step towards achieving gender equality in Japan. 

▲All the local assemblies in Kagawa Prefecture in the western Japan approved proposals to promote the system offering the choice of keeping one’s surname on marriage. The photo is the event we held with the presidents of each assembly, members of the Diet and citizens to celebrate the approvals. Photo by Hiroyoshi Nishikawa

Japan: the last step towards the universal abolition of the compulsory one “family surname” system

     In the past, some countries had laws that required wives to change their surnames to that of their husbands upon marriage. CEDAW made it clear that women and men have equal rights to keep their surnames. Towards the signatory States with the legal framework forcing married couples to have one single surname, CEDAW urges the changes. Since many States succeeded in achieving gender equality for surnames, Japan has become the last country where the one “family name” system persists.
     Enabling women to retain their pre-marital surnames is the first step towards achieving gender equality in Japan. This change is crucial; being able to choose our names has a lasting impact on our private and professional lives and, more fundamentally, our dignity.

The wife changes the surname in 95% of married couples

     Under Japanese law, a married couple must share a single surname, either the wife’s or the husband’s, to be used by all family members. This choice is made upon marriage and a couple cannot have, for example, hyphenated, connected, or double surnames. Although the law is neutral on its face, in 94.7% of all marriages in 2022, it was the wife who abandoned her surname.

The devastating impact of forced surname changes on women

1. Loss of identity, dignity, and autonomy
     Mandatory name changes upon marriage have a devastating impact on one’s identity, dignity, and autonomy. According to one survey, 43% of married women would have chosen to retain their surname if they had options. These women, in short, exchanged their autonomy with their marriage certificates. Being compelled to change one’s name causes feelings of loss, frustration, or even resentment. Some women struggle to reconcile their new identity and even get clinically depressed as a result.

     After a woman is stripped of her original identity, she is given a new one as a daughter-in-law, wife, and mother—a submissive, unpaid caregiver for the family who is not seen as deserving her own individuality based on the established values of the pre-war ie (Japanese for “house”) system. Due to the change in her name, she inevitably internalizes these roles.

“Based on the antiquated notion of marriage and the role of wives, it is considered unwifely for a woman not to ”feel married” and thus ”content” with the husband’s surname. Women are forced to adopt a new identity as a wife and a mother, which should bear more importance than who she was or what she had accomplished before marriage.” —a Japanese woman

     We can see how deep-rooted these gender discriminatory norms are in Japanese society, considering that 95% of women change their surnames upon marriage despite the law superficially respecting the couples’ free choice. The social expectations and practices pressure women to alter their names, which reinforces entrenched gender roles and patriarchal norms, placing greater importance on men's identities at the expense of women's.

2. Administrative nightmare
     When a couple marries, the spouse who changes his or her surname faces an administrative nightmare. That person must change his or her registered name on all official documents by visiting numerous government offices and banks during their working hours. This process burdens those who undergo these changes, who often must take time off from work only for this process.

3. Professional disadvantages

A. Consequences of the forced name change
     Name changes disrupt women’s established identity in the workplace and lead to confusion in professional settings. Japanese women nowadays often marry after they have built their professional careers under their premarital surnames, unlike in the past, when most women got married younger. When seeking promotion or employment or pursuing further studies, a woman who changed her surname must prove that her pre-marital academic and professional achievements (e.g., diploma, publication, and patents) made under her maiden surname belong to her, which is an additional burden, especially for women seeking such opportunities abroad.

B. The promotion of the use of maiden names as a professional name, but unofficially
     To avoid these disadvantages, Japanese women often continue to use their premarital surname at work. The Japanese government is also promoting such use, but the use is still unofficial. Therefore, according to a 2015 court decision, there is no legal right to continue to use one’s premarital surname. 

      Importantly, even if the use of premarital surnames becomes established as a legal right, that is never a solution to the challenges Japanese women are facing, as all official documents would still be issued under their legal surname.

     Moreover, using different names in addition to the names in one’s passport is not allowed in many foreign workplaces, most notably in the United Nations system. Simply put, the abolition of the mandatory one “family name” law is the only workable solution and the only way to bring Japanese law into compliance with CEDAW.

We want a solution for  couples who simply want to keep their respective surnames

     Couples in Japan who want to marry and also keep their surnames with which they were born are left with three options.

1 Give up keeping their respective surnames and get married legally.
…One of the couple changes one’s surname against their will and continues to use one’s maiden name as much as possible after marriage. 60% of people who use their maiden name feel inconvenienced and uncomfortable.

2 Give up legally getting married and keep their surnames.
…being anxious about not being recognised as a family during hospital visits, insurance applications, etc., even though the couple’s bond is no less than that of any legally “married” couple.

3 Give up being together with the one you love (because you do not wish to opt 1 or 2 above)
…Disagreements about surnames with your partner or their family can also lead to a broken engagement.

Public Opinion in Japan

     A survey by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research (only available in Japanese) shows that 83.9% of the public approves changing the law to allow married couples to have different last names on choice. The Demand for this change is growing as women play a greater role in the workplace and more couples share the housework and childcare.

     Currently, almost all political parties, except the dominant Liberal Democratic Party, have publicly expressed that they are in favor of reforming Japan’s marriage law to add the option to get married without changing anyone’s last name.

     Some opposing opinions argue that separate surnames may significantly weaken family ties. Supporters of the law reform answer that the negative impact on family ties is questionable since 1. family is more than a name, 2. the rest of the countries around the world allow families to have different last names, and 3. about one-third of couples in Japan nowadays get a divorce despite having the same family names.

One “family name” system: a blatant CEDAW violation

     The Japanese one “family name” policy directly violates the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) as interpreted under General Recommendation 21, which states that “each partner should have the right to choose his or her name, hereby preserving individuality and identity in the community and distinguishing that person from other members of society. When by law or custom a woman is obliged to change her name on marriage or at its dissolution, she is denied these rights.”

     CEDAW recommendations in 2003, 2009, and 2016 strongly urged Japan to revise its laws to let married couples choose to retain their respective surnames. Nevertheless, for 21 years, the Japanese government has done nothing in response to these recommendations.

Concluding observations on the combined seventh and eighth periodic reports of Japan
13. The Committee reiterates its previous recommendations (CEDAW/C/JPN/CO/5 and CEDAW/C/JPN/CO/6 ) and urges the State party to undertake the following without delay … revise legislation regarding the choice of surnames for married couples in order to enable women to retain their maiden surnames … 

The economic world begins to take an action whereas the government takes a backward-looking stance

     On 8 March 2024, International Women’s Day, we submitted a petition which carried the signatures of 1046 leading businessmen to the Japanese government, the prime minister and concerned ministers. Some businessmen belong to  Keidanren – an economic organization consisting of Japanese major corporations – and others belong to decision-making bodies in their companies. Delegations of these business organizations accompanied us on submission. Additionally, on June 10 2024, Keidanren independently published their opinion (available only in Japanese) only  demanding the government to approve the choice to get married without changing surnames ‘as early as possible’. Their report reveals that 88% of female executives realize the limitations of using their maiden names and lists specific troubles related to the use of maiden names.

     Nowadays, women come to build up their credit, achievements and wealth and play a decision-making role as executives. In this situation, forcing these women to change their surnames makes it difficult for them to live and work, which is ‘the loss for social developments and economic expansion’. Leading business figures also indicate that ‘the unofficial use of maiden names in international business is nothing but a risk’.That’s why the prominent business leaders demanded the government to make a change in the marital law.

     However, Prime Minister Kishida repeated what he has always been saying, ‘This matter concerns the unity of family and benefit of children’ and indicated his intention to do nothing. This attitude received huge criticism as disrespectful to people both in and outside Japan that wholeheartedly embrace the bond of family even without sharing surnames.

Advocacy Actions to CEDAW

     To accelerate the movements for law reform, Asuniwa is going to send a delegation to Geneva in October 2024 when CEDAW will discuss the recommendations to Japan. The Asuniwa delegation team will take several actions in Geneva, including having formal/informal meetings with the foreign delegations and holding side events.

Projects you can support

1: Dispatch 6 members of the global team of ‘Asuniwa’ to the United Nations of Geneva in order to advocate our cause directly to committee members of CEDAW! (c. 3 million JPY)
What we are planning to:
• Attending meetings in the UN in Geneva—We will attend meetings to explain our situation directly to CEDAW committee members, which will deepen their understanding.• Preparing documents for advocacy—We have already finished preparing documents for petitioning the CEDAW committee members and explaining our cause to foreign media, and have started distributing them to the committee members and embassies. We are also preparing an NGO report to submit to the United Nations.
• Press meetings— cooperating with other international NGOs, we will organize press meetings to report our actions and to provide information on gender equality

▲A part of the Advocacy Brief made by the global team of Asuniwa

Cost:
• The expenses of transportation to Switzerland and accommodation fee in Geneva for the entire period of the CEDAW review to advocate.
• Cost for press conferences (fees for venue, broadcast, publicity and printing)

Your help is essential for our advocacy!

2: Cooperating with the business and law communities to organize symposiums and informative campaigns to promote law reform! (c. 4 million JPY)
     After CEDAW recommendations to the Japanese government are released, we need to take actions to promote law refinement in Japan to abolish the mandatory same-surname system as soon as possible, using the recommendations as grounds for protest.

What we are planning to:
• Launch a large-scale symposium and campaign—This autumn, we plan to launch a symposium and campaign led by the "Business Leaders' Group for the Early Realization of the Selective Surname System for Married Couples," for which Asuniwa serves as the secretariat. We will keep our supporters informed of our progress through regular activity reports.

Cost:
• Fees for venues, management and shooting videos for social enlightenment, and rewards for presenters outside of our organization.

3. Creating goods (c. 1 million JPY)

     Among the rewards to those helping us, one thing we want to do is ‘take your name to Geneva’ by printing your names on T-shirts. Carrying your names (logos if you want), members of the global team of Asuniwa will go to Geneva and hold press conferences. We will also send T-shirts with the same design to you.

Let’s realize #MyNameMyChoice together!

Summary of how to use 10 million yen

• Dispatch 6 members of the global team of ‘Asuniwa’ to the United Nations of Geneva where Japan is going to be reviewed under CEDAW: c. 3 million JPY
• Cooperating with the business and law communities to organize symposiums and informative campaigns to promote law reform: c. 4 million JPY
• Preparing returns (e.g. creating goods) : c. 1 million JPY
• Other expenses (e.g. personnel expenses): c. 2 million JPY

***** Crowdfunding returns*****

1,000 JPY <aim at marital law reform> If people think, "I want to do what I can for law reform," and come together, society will change. For those who wish to show solidarity with us, you can specify as many units as you like. We sincerely appreciate your participation. Rewards: ①Activity report email, ②Announcement for events

3,000 JPY <A sticker of ‘MY NAME MY CHOICE’ or of the Asuniwa logo> We will deliver one of these stickers. Please select the one you want. Let’s express your hope for law reform by pasting it where everyone sees it, like on your PC! Please be sure to provide your postal code and address for delivery. Rewards: ①A sticker, ②Activity report email, ③Announcement for events

5,000 JPY <A can badge of ‘MY NAME MY CHOICE’ or of the Asuniwa logo> Attach it to your bag and take it with you wherever you go! Let’s express your hope for law reform! Please be sure to provide your postal code and address for delivery. Rewards: ①A can badge, ②Activity report email, ③Announcement for events

10,000 JPY <Take your name to Geneva (Name display only/ small letter point)> Carrying your names, our global team members of the Asuniwa will advocate for the realization of the choice of separate-surname marriage to the committee on the CEDAW, and attend press conferences on site. Please be sure to provide your postal code and address for delivery. Also, write the name (names of companies or organizations are accepted) you want to be included in the remarks column. *Within 20 characters, no special characters. Rewards: ①Name display on T-shirt (small letter point) (You will not receive the T-shirt), ②Activity report email, ③Announcement for events

20,000 JPY <Souvenir of Geneva: one item of goods of the UN> We will send you one item of souvenir bought at the United Nations Office in Geneva. Global team members of Asuniwa will wholeheartedly select the items, such as a pin badge and pens. *Please leave the content of the souvenir to us. Rewards: ①Souvenir of Geneva: one item of goods of the UN, ②Activity report email, ③Announcement for events

30,000 JPY <Take your name to Geneva (Name display + a T-shirt/ medium letter point)> Carrying your names, our global team members of the Asuniwa will advocate for the realization of the choice of separate-surname marriage to the committee on the CEDAW, and attend press conferences on site. Please be sure to provide your postal code and address for delivery. Also, write the name (names of companies or organizations are accepted) you want to be included in the remarks column. *Within 20 characters, no special characters. Rewards: ①Name display on T-shirt (medium letter point) + a T-shirt, ②Activity report email, ③Announcement for events

100,000 JPY <Take your name to Geneva (Name display + a T-shirt/ large letter point)> Carrying your names, our global team members of the Asuniwa will advocate for the realization of the choice of separate-surname marriage to the committee on the CEDAW, and attend press conferences on site. Please be sure to provide your postal code and address for delivery. Also, write the name (names of companies or organizations are accepted) you want to be included in the remarks column. *Within 20 characters, no special characters. Rewards: ①Name display on T-shirt (large letter point) + a T-shirt, ②Activity report email, ③Announcement for events

100,000 JPY <Souvenir of Geneva: a pack of five items of goods of the UN> We will send you one item of souvenir bought at the United Nations Office in Geneva. Global team members of Asuniwa will wholeheartedly select the items, such as a pin badge, pens and shopping bags. *Please leave the content of the souvenir to us. Rewards: ①Souvenir of Geneva: a pack of five items of goods of the UN, ②Activity report email, ③Announcement for events

500,000 JPY <Take your logo to Geneva (logo display + three T-shirts)/ Display your name on our website as a silver sponsor> Carrying logos of your companies and organizations, our global team members of the Asuniwa will advocate for the realization of the choice of separate-surname marriage to the committee on the CEDAW, and attend press conferences on site. Please be sure to provide your postal code and address for delivery. Also, in the remarks column, write the names of companies or organizations you want to be included. *Within 20 characters, no special characters (We will contact you by email regarding the submission of logo data and the selection of T-shirt sizes). Rewards: ①Logo display on T-shirt + three T-shirts + display logo on our website as a silver sponsor, ②Activity report email, ③Announcement for events

1,000,000 JPY <Take your logo to Geneva (logo display + five T-shirts)/ Display your name on our website as a gold sponsor> Carrying logos of your companies and organizations, our global team members of the Asuniwa will advocate for the realization of the choice of separate-surname marriage to the committee on the CEDAW, and attend press conferences on site. Please be sure to provide your postal code and address for delivery. Also, in the remarks column, write the names of companies or organizations you want to be included. *Within 20 characters, no special characters (We will contact you by email regarding the submission of logo data and the selection of T-shirt sizes). Rewards: ①Logo display on T-shirt + five T-shirts + display logo on our website as a gold sponsor, ②activity report email, ③announcement for events

2,000,000 JPY <Take your logo to Geneva (logo display rights + five T-shirts)/ Display your name on our website as a platinum sponsor> Carrying logos of your companies and organizations, our global team members of the Asuniwa will advocate for the realization of the choice of separate-surname marriage to the committee on the CEDAW, and attend press conferences on site. Please be sure to provide your postal code and address for delivery. Also, in the remarks column, write the names of companies or organizations you want to be included. *Within 20 characters, no special characters (We will contact you by email regarding the submission of logo data and the selection of T-shirt sizes). Rewards: ①Logo display on T-shirt + five T-shirts + display logo on our website as a platinum sponsor, ②Activity report email, ③Announcement for events