The push for a dual-surname system in Japan has gained momentum, with prominent business figures and business lobbies like Keidanren and Keizai Doyukai actively campaigning for a change in the current law. The call for allowing married couples to select separate surnames has been fueled by the increasing number of women in leadership positions within the business community, who find the current single-surname system restrictive and cumbersome.
Keidanren and Keizai Doyukai, two influential business organizations in Japan, have criticized the existing mandatory single-surname rule, stating that it poses obstacles to business operations. Business leaders like Keiko Tashiro from Daiwa Securities Group Inc. and Teiko Kudo from Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. have personally presented requests to governmental ministries for the introduction of a surname selection mechanism, highlighting the inconvenience and costs associated with the current system. This movement for a dual-surname option is supported by a group of executives, with notable figures like Yoshihisa Aono from Cybozu Inc. leading the charge and presenting a petition with 1,000 signatures from corporate executives in favor of the change.
The proposition for a dual-surname system is a response to the evolving landscape of gender equality and diversity in the workplace, with more women taking on prominent roles in the business sector. Business leaders such as Keidanren Chairman Masakazu Tokura and Keizai Doyukai Chairman Takeshi Niinami are actively advocating for the introduction of a dual-surname framework, emphasizing that embracing diversity through legal changes is crucial for Japan as an industrialized nation. The push for legal revisions to allow married couples to choose separate surnames comes after years of resistance from political quarters that opposed the dual surname system, citing concerns about familial unity. However, advocates for the change highlight the need to accommodate the increasing number of female executives for whom the single-surname rule can pose practical challenges in their professional and personal lives.