Yomiuri: Govt 'to let couples use 2 surnames'
The government intends to introduce a system that will give married couples the right to use separate surnames, according to government sources. The government reportedly plans to submit a bill to revise the Civil Code -- which stipulates that married couples must have the same surname -- to an ordinary session of the Diet next year, at the earliest. If the revision is realized, it would be the first major change to the law in the six decades since its inception. The surname rule for married couples was stipulated in the Civil Code in 1947. The...Liberal Democratic Party strongly opposed the idea, saying it might damage family unity and lead to the collapse of family relations...The planned bill to be proposed by the DPJ and its allies reportedly stipulates that couples can choose whether to adopt a common surname when they get married. In addition, the minimum age for marriage reportedly will be changed to 18 for both men and women. The contents of the bill reportedly are mostly in line with [a 1996] Legislative Council's report. But the DPJ and the ministry may need to adjust their plan with regard to some points. For example, the ministry's report stipulates that all the children of a married couple with separate surnames should use the surname of only one parent, but the DPJ reportedly aims to allow each child to choose the surname of either parent...more...