--- title: Japan Upholds Law That Married Couples Must Have The Same Surname | TIME description: A group of women challenged a law from 1896 that requires couples to have the same surname, but they were unsuccessful. canonical: https://time.com/video/J61Hp9NQ/ og:title: Japan Upholds Law That Married Couples Must Have The Same Surname og:description: A group of women challenged a law from 1896 that requires couples to have the same surname, but they were unsuccessful. og:url: https://time.com/video/J61Hp9NQ/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/J61Hp9NQ/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Japan Upholds Law That Married Couples Must Have The Same Surname twitter:description: A group of women challenged a law from 1896 that requires couples to have the same surname, but they were unsuccessful. twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/J61Hp9NQ/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # Japan Upholds Law That Married Couples Must Have The Same Surname > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: Japan Upholds Law That Married Couples Must Have The Same Surname [Watch (HLS stream): Japan Upholds Law That Married Couples Must Have The Same Surname](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/J61Hp9NQ.m3u8) (0:57)  _Published 2015-12-17. A group of women challenged a law from 1896 that requires couples to have the same surname, but they were unsuccessful._ --- Jul 27, 2023 7:20 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Same-Sex Couples In Ireland Can Now Legally Marry](/video/bG0cuNq1/) ### Same-Sex Couples In Ireland Can Now Legally Marry [Same-Sex Couples Will Get More Federal Benefits](/video/ht0ke2cK/) ### Same-Sex Couples Will Get More Federal Benefits [Gay Couples Marry in Minnesota](/video/6w33URYJ/) ### Gay Couples Marry in Minnesota --- ## Transcript In Japan, married couples must have the same last name, which means in most cases women take their husband's surname. In 2011, a few women tried to challenge the 1896 law but on Wednesday, Japan's Supreme Court ruled on the case and it didn't barge. [ FOREIGN ] [ FOREIGN ] Japan isn't the only country that upholds an older law deciding the fate of a woman's surname. Greece, France, and Italy have lost opposite of Japan's. They make it illegal for women to take their husband's last name. Opponents see the Japanese court's decision as backsliding for women's rights, especially in a country where there's been a push to get more women in the workplace. Japan ranked 101 out of 145 countries in this year's World Economic Forum Gender Gap Index. 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