In a move that is likely to rekindle political debate, Justice Minister Masahiko Komura instructed his ministry Friday to conduct a public opinion poll on a possible revision of the Civil Code to enable a married couple to retain separate family names.
Komura's instruction was the fist of its kind in five years after a report submitted in 1996 to the then justice minister by the Legislative Council of the Justice Ministry, which proposed giving couples the choice as to whether to retain separate family names.
Since then, however, the proposed revision of the Civil Code has been up in the air mainly because of persistent opposition from conservative lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. The Democratic Party of Japan has promoted the revision.
"Frankly, a survey conducted back then found a majority of the public in opposition (to allowing separate family names)," Komura told reporters Friday. "But five years have passed and the Justice Ministry would like to adequately deal with the trend in public opinion by conducting a fresh survey through the Cabinet Office."