Japan to ease requirements to indicate maiden names on passports

@BurningBush

This is completely false.

Where I come from all women keep their birth name for life, married or not.

Our two kids have my family name. She travelled to many countries with them, including Japan, without every being questioned.

Obviously customs officials are better informed than you.

many people face obstacles in their daily lives due to the Civil Code requirement for a married couple to share a surname.

Then just change the civil Code, or would that cause confusion?

Maiden names or other given names, including surnames of those holding dual citizenship or people whose spouses are non-Japanese, will be clearly written as "former surname" or "alternative surname" on the name field of the passports from April.

This is written a little vague as to imply that Japan somehow now accepts Japanese 'holding dual citizenship' which clearly is not the case unless that also changed now with this new rule. So which is it?

Better late than never.

Good to finally see this issue addressed, which was causing unnecessary issues upon arrival in many countries.

After more than 20 years of being stopped and questioned about the "name discrepancy " on her passport literally every time we went on an overseas holiday or returned to Australia, my wife finally made the difficult decision to renounce her Japanese nationality and become an Australian just to avoid the problem. This change is decades overdue.

If travelling with a child and the names on the passports don't match, you'll have to provide documentation that the child is indeed your family member at every major airport in the world.

Not entirely true. The article shows that this will not be the case.

In my experience (outside of Japan) and that of friends, family - partners/married couples/children - all with different surnames - don't usually face this hassle. Unless they're being racially profiled, natch.

This is written a little vague as to imply that Japan somehow now accepts Japanese 'holding dual citizenship' which clearly is not the case unless that also changed now with this new rule. So which is it?

If you are under 22 you legally can.