Русский
Under Japanese law, married couples must have the same family name, with the exception of international marriages. However, in a recent survey, 35.9% of respondents said that while they personally would prefer to have the same surname as their partner, they thought it was fine for other couples to choose. A further 34.7% also answered in favor, saying that they would prefer to choose separate surnames and other couples should be free to choose too. The survey of 7,000 people under the age of 60 was conducted by Tanamura Masayuki’s laboratory at Waseda University together with a nongovernmental organization promoting the right of couples to have separate surnames.