Young Japanese Support Separate Married Surname Option

The Nippon Foundation ran a survey in mid-August 2025 asking 1,000 teenagers aged 17 to 19 about their views on introducing a selective separate surname system for married couples in Japan.

Overall, around 90% of respondents were aware of this system, with approximately 70% expressing interest in it.

Under current civil law, when a couple get married, one of them is required to change their surname so that they share the same one. Overwhelmingly, it is women who change their surname, accounting for 94% of cases in total.

Only 20.5% of respondents, and notably just 12.9% of women, thought the current system “should be maintained.” Instead, most men and women were in favor of a system that would let them choose separate surnames; for women this was a majority at 53.0%.

The most common reason among respondents who supported the introduction of the option for separate surnames was that “there are many kinds of families” at 55.0%, followed by “being able to choose is appropriate in the modern era” at 43.7%. A further 19.7% felt “changing names is a hassle.”

In contrast, at 36.4%, the most common response among people who supported maintaining the current system, whereby married couples share the same surname, was that they had “concerns about children’s surnames.” While 31.8% in total stated that “even if their name changes through marriage, expanding the ability to use former names is enough,” a significant gender gap could be seen between the 47.7% of women and 19.1% of men who thought this. Only 13.1% felt that “the same surname creates a sense of family unity.”

When asked which surname they would choose on getting married in the future, those who answered “separate surnames” were in the minority at just 2.6%. Overall, there was not much difference between those who would “choose the same surname,” accounting for 38.9%, and those who “will discuss with my partner before deciding,” standing at 36.4%. However, looking at just women, nearly half said they would “take on my partner’s surname,” at 45.2%.

Data Sources

• Survey on use of separate surnames (Japanese) from the Nippon Foundation.
• Data on marital surnames (Japanese) from the Gender Equality Bureau Cabinet Office.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)