I am an American female citizen marrying a dual (Japanese & American) citizen man and I know that Japan has a law that states that Japanese women have to change their last name when they get married. I have my number in Japan, so I exist in their system there, but we live in the USA and are planning to get married here. When we get married, I would like to keep my last name. However when we notify the Japanese government, will I have to change my registered name in Japan?
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3What is your question?– DavidRecallsMonicaCommented Jul 13, 2021 at 19:34
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2What is very important: Where do you get married? That makes a huge difference. Often the country where you get married insists that everything is done according to its rules. And other countries will often just accept that you are married, and don't question the rules of the other country.– gnasher729Commented Jul 13, 2021 at 20:26
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I added the necessary punctuation, so I believe the question is clear now. Leaving this open.– ouflak ♦Commented Jul 15, 2021 at 6:50
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@ouflak Thanks, clear to me now. Retracted my close vote,– DavidRecallsMonicaCommented Jul 15, 2021 at 14:53
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@ouflak thank you– Sarah AdkinsCommented Jul 20, 2021 at 20:29
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2 Answers
I am an American man who married a Japanese woman. We got married here in Japan and each kept our own last names. The kids have mine on their US passports and hers on their Japanese passports. It might be illegal in the eyes of the high courts or something, but it's not a problem. The biggest thing is the family registry. Technically my wife is head of the family and started a completely new tree when we got married. I'm on it but more of a footnote. I think technically it's not illegal, but not exactly by the book either. Don't worry about it.
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1It's not illegal at all, it's completely normal and fine. For your kids, I can tell you having different names in different countries can be a pain though... Commented Oct 30, 2022 at 10:21
Note that Japanese law requires not only the wife and the husband to have the same surname (Article 750, Civil Code of Japan), but also the entire "family" to maintain the same surname (per the Family Registry Law).
However, foreigners cannot be part of the family registry, and the Article 750 of the Civil Code doesn't apply in this case. Since you are not a Japanese citizen, you do not need to change your surname, and neither does your husband. Nothing has to be done. Even in the case of two Japanese citizens marrying abroad, there is no legal requirement to report the marriage to the Japanese government (and since the marriage is registered under a foreign jurisdiction, Japanese law doesn't apply). Japanese courts have repeatedly confirmed the validity of foreign-registered marriages in Japan, so there isn't really anything to worry about.
You say you have your number there, but you must have confused the residence registry (住民登録) with the family registry (戸籍). The former is for residents of Japan (i.e. non-resident Japanese citizens are excluded, but resident foreigners are included) and managed by local governments, and the later is for citizens of Japan (regardless of residence) and is managed by the Ministry of Justice. Only the residence registry is used for day-to-day activities (such as social benefits and healthcare); the family registry is essentially only relevant for marriages and inheritances. People on the same residence register do not need to have the same surname, so there's nothing to change.
Your children will by default have the surname of your husband as they will be part of your husband's family registry. However it is possible to petition a Family Court to remove them from your husband's family registry into a new one, so that they could take up your surname.
Of course, if you did change your legal name in the States, then you will likely need to get a new passport under the new name. If you do change your passport name, you will need to notify the Immigration Services Agency of Japan.
So, really, otherwise, there is nothing you need to do here.
