When Foreign Minister Taro Kono wrote on Twitter that he would order his ministry to look into the contentious issue of maiden names on passports in response to a tweet in early June, he may not have been aware of the minefield he was about to step into.
The issue has been a vexing one for some. And with female empowerment guidelines released this year by the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledging to ease passport rules to allow for the full-fledged use of maiden names within the fiscal year, it is again being thrust into the national spotlight.
Japan is the only country in the world that doesn't allow married couples to officially use different surnames, a Justice Ministry official told the Lower House's Judicial Affairs Committee in March 2018. Rather, the country's Civil Code requires married couples to choose either the surname of the wife or husband.
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