Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. A record number of female candidates stood in the 2024 Japanese election. Richard A. Brooks/AFP via Getty Images For centuries, ...

Japan is the only nation where married couples must use the same surname. Critics say it violates women's rights and, unless the rule is scrapped, all Japanese could be surnamed Sato in 500 years.

Everyone in Japan will have the same surname by 2531 unless laws are changed to allow married couples to have different names, according to a new study. Sato is the most popular family name in Japan, ...

Japan is the only country in the world that requires spouses to use the same name, but after decades of inaction, appetite for change is building For Akiko Saikawa, the administrative nightmare began ...

For centuries, women entering marriage in Japan have been bound by the Confucian notion of personal sacrifice for the good of the family – and that has extended to their names. Encouraged by a sexual ...