Japanese wife's surname after marriage

[Established]

My wife had a few publications under her name before we got married (uni teacher), and opted not to take my name to preserve continuity there. I think she also liked that she didn't have to take my name, which would have been the case if she'd've married a japanese. Back then ('88), that represented a kind of freedom/liberation.

That meant that the kids got her name at birth. For each one we later went to the family court and petitioned to have their family names changed to mine, and one effect of that was that each one got a new koseki.

Not to hijack this post but...

Why did you change their names in Japan? Surely the Japanese last name is an advantage here.

I may get my son`s name changed in Canada to match my family name, but I plan to keep his last name Japanese.

Just FYI, if I understand correctly, you’re talking about your son having different official names in Canada and Japan. I don’t think you can do this any more (you could until about 12-15 years ago).

My understanding is it needs to be done in the country. A citizen can certainly change their name if they wish.

[pfdsa]

My understanding is it needs to be done in the country. A citizen can certainly change their name if they wish.

This is off-topic, but now I’m curious...if you your son has different official names in both countries, what would happen with his passport name? Does he have a different passport for both countries?

[captainspoke]

...
Why did you change their names in Japan? Surely the Japanese last name is an advantage here.
...

I think it's six of one, a half dozen of the other. One angle was that with my name, they felt more like mine. Also, for some things, you roll the dice and take your chances. (And my last name is only three kana, so it fit easily on those name stickers for pencils and stuff in primary school.)

They didn't have any trouble with bullying (both girls, so maybe that was a factor). They're 28 and 32 now, and it has all worked out. The older one has now taken her japanese husband's name; the younger one is in grad school in the US, so a non-issue--tho she may eventually be back here for work.

[Ori]

My wife had a few publications under her name before we got married (uni teacher), and opted not to take my name to preserve continuity there. I think she also liked that she didn't have to take my name, which would have been the case if she'd've married a japanese. Back then ('88), that represented a kind of freedom/liberation.

Not only back then. The lack of progress in this issue is frustrating, to say the least.

[JapaneseMike]

My understanding is it needs to be done in the country. A citizen can certainly change their name if they wish.

This is off-topic, but now I’m curious...if you your son has different official names in both countries, what would happen with his passport name? Does he have a different passport for both countries?

I believe this is possible. A friend of mine had different names on their Italian & Brazilian passports because of the way that names are done in both countries.

I hadn't considered the implications of this to be fair, I assume if you ever got arrested you'd be referred to as Mr Smith, aka Mr Tanaka in court papers

[Established]

My understanding is it needs to be done in the country. A citizen can certainly change their name if they wish.

This is off-topic, but now I’m curious...if you your son has different official names in both countries, what would happen with his passport name? Does he have a different passport for both countries?

I believe this is possible. A friend of mine had different names on their Italian & Brazilian passports because of the way that names are done in both countries.

I hadn't considered the implications of this to be fair, I assume if you ever got arrested you'd be referred to as Mr Smith, aka Mr Tanaka in court papers

The Japanese Wikipedia page on common names/通名 actually mentions examples of this.

犯罪の被疑者が通名を使用している外国籍の者であった場合、一部報道機関は、本名（民族名）ではなく通名（日本名）で報道することもある[33]。

2017年、長野県御代田町で女性が面識のない無職の中国籍の男に殺害された事件[34]では、朝日新聞は、犯人の本名を伏せて通名のみの報道を行った[35]。

When the suspect in a crime is a foreign national using a common name, some news organizations may report the crime under the common name (Japanese name) instead of the real name (ethnic name)[33].

In 2017, in the case of the murder of a woman in Miyota-machi, Nagano Prefecture, by an unemployed Chinese national whom she had never met,[34] the Asahi Shimbun reported the case only under an alias,[35] without mentioning the killer's real name.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%80%9A%E5%90%8D

[pfdsa]

Very interesting information, thank you all
One last question...Any of you has a family name made of multiple words, or multiple family names (ex: family name from both parents)?
If yes, did your wife took your complete family name, or would it be possible to take just one of the names? (I probably should be asking this at the city hall or something, but...)

[beanhead]

That's great to hear. So your wife's name now is registered in Katakana+Kanji everywhere (except the passport I guess)?
I'm asking this because in my zairyuu card the name is obviously written in alphabet, but the national insurance card is written in katakana, so was wondering what happens with the Japanese folks that take a foreign surname.
Also, did your wife ever were mistaken for a half/foreign?

After seeing my pain due to my long name, I'm pretty sure she will stay away from hyphens and that sort of stuff

Yes, she uses her Japanese first name and my katakana surname. On passport, health insurance cards, nenkin book etc etc.

My wife has not been mistaken for foreign or 'half'. The only challenge our name has caused is ordering things or making reservations over the phone. Japanese folks are mostly not used to fluent Japanese speakers with 'foreign' names. So she frequently has to say her name 2 or 3 times or spell it out. A minor convenience, rather than a major problem.
Kids have my name too, no issues or bullying there either.

[pfdsa]

That's great to hear. So your wife's name now is registered in Katakana+Kanji everywhere (except the passport I guess)?
I'm asking this because in my zairyuu card the name is obviously written in alphabet, but the national insurance card is written in katakana, so was wondering what happens with the Japanese folks that take a foreign surname.
Also, did your wife ever were mistaken for a half/foreign?

After seeing my pain due to my long name, I'm pretty sure she will stay away from hyphens and that sort of stuff

Yes, she uses her Japanese first name and my katakana surname. On passport, health insurance cards, nenkin book etc etc.

My wife has not been mistaken for foreign or 'half'. The only challenge our name has caused is ordering things or making reservations over the phone. Japanese folks are mostly not used to fluent Japanese speakers with 'foreign' names. So she frequently has to say her name 2 or 3 times or spell it out. A minor convenience, rather than a major problem.
Kids have my name too, no issues or bullying there either.

Thanks for the answer, that’s good to know

[Established]

I will not harp on, because I seem to be in the minority opinion here. (That your wife should keep her native name, and your future kids should take her name).

However, I will ultimately suggest that we are not the ones to answer this question. It should ideally be a Japanese woman who has lived under a foreign last name or someone who grew up ハーフ with a foreign last name.

I will also note that you can have it both ways. My wife has my last name in her passport as her "married name", it is an official notation, and when we were abroad for a year she went by my last name with no issues.

You can also go through the legal name change process in your home country so children can have different names on their "foreign" passport, (with a notation mentioning their Japanese name).

Finally, if your wife has academic work or published material attribution can be a bit of a headache if she changes her name. My sister-in-law has yet to do the paperwork for the basic stuff, insurance, I.D etc because of all the headaches and time it takes.