In Greece, women automatically keep their surnames after they marry, but Japan’s Supreme Court said Wednesday that married couples are obliged to continue to use only one surname despite the fact that five plaintiffs had filed a lawsuit to make it easier for women to keep their maiden names.

Kyoto Tsukamoto, one of the plaintiffs who watnted to keep her maiden name had tears swell up in her eyes when she heard the ruling, stating that her name is her identity.

A Japanese 19th century law affirmed by the court doesn’t specify which spouse should change their surname but most women in male-dominated Japanese society end up taking their husband’s surname.  A favorable ruling would have helpd workign women and given recognition to their position in society in Japan, the only major developed country that prevents couples with different surnames from registering their marriage.

In Greece, women automatically keep their surname when they marry and would need to undergo a legal procedure should they choose to use their husband’s name in official documents. This law was enacted in 1983 and as a result Greek women are no longer changing their name after marriage. The law was part of a major set of reforms enacted as the coutnry emerged from dictatorship.

Strangely enough, Iran has had a similar system to that of Greece for a century.