There has been a lot of discussion about the optional separate surname system for married couples, which allows couples to choose different surnames when they get married. There are many different opinions, but the main reason behind this is that we have become a society where individual preferences are respected, and in fact, the way we live our lives is becoming more individual-based.
Something like this happened. She spent Golden Week with an acquaintance in London, but one day she went to her cell phone shop because she needed to get a cell phone service done. Her last name was originally A, but it became B when she got married. She later got divorced, but she called herself B for a while, then changed back to A. Therefore, the data registered as her personal information contains A’s surname and B’s surname mixed together.
When she introduced herself as A at a mobile phone shop, she was refused, saying that she could not complete the procedure because she was not registered as A. It seems that she registered her mobile phone with B’s last name. She complained by showing her driver’s license and insurance card that she used to be B, but got divorced and became A, but both her driver’s license and insurance card had A’s surname on them. There is. The store clerk was confused and refused to complete the procedure, saying that she did not have the authority to do so. She called the customer center from the shop, but was turned around and couldn’t complete the procedure that day.
On her way home, she asked repeatedly in a trembling voice, “Who the hell am I?” All I could do was calmly say, ”I understand how you feel. It’s rude”. she said. ”Marriage is really troublesome. Even if you get divorced, it’s still troublesome. I understand why young people don’t want to get married.”
As people begin to live their lives on an individual basis, changing a woman’s last name makes it difficult to identify her and causes a lot of trouble. This is the same in Japan and the UK. Particularly as computer management progresses as it does today, information is mercilessly determined based solely on whether characters match or do not match.
In an age where the individual is valued, it is only natural that more and more people do not want to change their surnames even after marriage. As the digitalization of society progresses further, the demand for a selective surname system for married couples will become even louder. (Kei Kitajima)