Japanese Women Sue to Keep Maiden Names

Group is challenging requirement to take husband's name
By Alp Arslan,  Newser User
Posted Jan 12, 2011 2:08 PM CST Posted Jan 12, 2011 2:08 PM CST
Promoted on Newser Jan 12, 2011 2:28 PM CST
Women Sue Jap. Gov. Over Name Change Mandate
Women attend a tea ceremony class at a cooking studio in Tokyo's business and commercial complex called Tokyo Midtown.   (AP)

Reminiscent of the Shogun TV miniseries set in 17th-century Japan, women there still must change their last names to that of their husbands when they marry. So a number of happily married women are suing the government over the requirement, seeking to use their maiden names instead, reports the Guardian. Said one woman, "I thought that I would get used to my husband's name, but I could not, and a sense of loss grew inside me." Click for more.
(More Japan stories.)

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