Justice Minister Yamashita says legislation is needed to widen the use of maiden names, stressing in an interview with news organizations that she wants to resolve the inconvenience and disadvantage felt by people who change their surname when they marry.
Yamashita also serves as minister in charge of gender equality. In Japan, married couples are required by law to share a single surname, and in most cases the wife takes her husband's — a rule that critics say pushes women out of the name they built their careers and public profiles under.
Her remarks point to a legal fix rather than the informal practice many people now rely on. Under the current system, some employers and institutions allow a maiden name as a common-use alias — tsusei — but it carries no legal standing, and people who use it can still hit problems proving identity on official documents.