Japan organizes matchmaking events for people with the same surname
Japan is organizing matchmaking events for people with the same surnames. This could allow couples to marry without changing their surnames, as Japanese law requires one spouse to take the other’s surname, The Japan Times reports.
Since March, the events have been jointly held by the civic organization Asuniwa, which advocates for an optional dual-surname system for married couples, and the major matchmaking service IBJ. For each event, organizers specify a particular surname that participants must have.
Meetings in Tokyo and online
By the end of May, four meetings had taken place in Tokyo, with around 50 people aged between 20 and 30 participating in total. In June, the first online meeting for people with the surname Suzuki was held: according to organizers, 14 participants from across the country joined it.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
One participant said that he was interested in discussing experiences related to having a common surname with others. At the same time, organizing similar events for people with rare surnames is difficult.
Rule on surnames after marriage
Japan’s Civil Code requires one spouse to change their surname to that of the other after marriage. According to a government survey for fiscal year 2021, among respondents who did not seek to marry, 31.9% of women and 8.6% of men did not want to change their surname or considered it inconvenient.
Yuka Maruyama, an Asuniwa representative who plans and runs these events, noted that changing a surname involves costs and the need to reissue a driver’s license and passport, and may also cause a sense of lost identity. According to her, the organizers aim to help at least some people marry without worrying about their surname and to draw attention to the need for an optional dual-surname system.
