TOKYO (BLOOMBERG) - Women in Japan are going through an identity crisis.. Read more at straitstimes.com.
They're fighting to overturn a law that bars married couples from having different last names, which creates complications for women who have established careers and reputations.
The issue roared into the public debate over the past few weeks during the campaign for the upper house, where opposition parties have made gender equality a key part of their platform against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his ruling Liberal Democratic Party . "If you believe traditions are important, then there's no need to change the law," said Mr Shigeharu Aoyama, an upper house LDP member. But others point out that it's not exactly an ancient tradition. Before the current law was passed in 1898, Japanese people didn't typically use surnames. In 1948, it became legal for couples to choose either spouse's surname, but they still had to stick with one.
A government survey released last year showed 42.5 per cent of adults supported changing the law - about 7 percentage points higher than five years earlier - while 29.3 per cent opposed the move. They can't take advantage of the same tax deductions as married couples. Legally, only one of them is allowed to have custody of their son. And they get tired of explaining to new friends and co-workers that they really are husband and wife, and their kids really are theirs, even though they have different last names. The situation is that uncommon in Japanese society.
The law has prompted some people to go by their birth names in public, while using their spouse's last name on official documents. That can be tricky. Women worry about whether their academic degrees will be recognised abroad. Companies sometimes mistakenly book flights or hotel rooms for employees under the name they use in everyday life, rather than the legal name they need to use when checking in.
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