Japan is closer than ever to legalizing the use of birth names after marriage, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s bill that would keep original surnames secondary to married names likely to be submitted to parliament during its next session.
In October, Takaichi instructed Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi to identify the obstacles to using birth names after marriage and to work on expanding their optional use.
Many government-issued identification documents already permit the use of a birth name in parentheses following a married name. These include passports, driver¡¯s licenses and My Number cards. However, among 332 national qualifications and licenses, only 41 allow the use of a birth name on its own. For financial documents issued by private banks, the option to use birth names is even less common.
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