Japanese citizens will all have the same last name in 500 years, unless married couples are permitted to use separate surnames. This is stated by a new study, conducted by Hiroshi Yoshida, professor of economics at Tohoku University, according to which, if Japan continues to adopt the civil code dating back to the late 1800s, which requires couples to choose a single surname, every single Japanese person will be known as 'Sato-san' by 2531.
“If everyone became 'Sato,' we might have to be called by our names or numbers,” Yoshida said, according to the Japanese newspaper Mainichi. “I don't think it would be a good world to live in.” The surname 'Sato' is already at the top of the list of the most common Japanese surnamesrepresenting 1.5% of the total population, according to a March 2023 surveyfollowed by Suzuki in second placeor. A nation of 'Sato', the researcher told the Asahi Shimbun, “will not only be inconvenient but will also undermine individual dignity”, also leading to the loss of family and regional heritage.
According to Yoshida's calculations, the percentage of Japanese named Sato increased 1.0083 times from 2022 to 2023. Assuming the rate remains constant and there is no change to the surname law, about half of Japan's population will have that name in 2446, rising to 100% in 2531. In Japan couples have to choose which surname to share when they get married, but in 95% of cases it is the woman who gives up her own. However, the picture would be different if the Japanese government allowed married couples to use separate surnames.
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