日本最高法院支持已婚夫妇同姓的这一法律规定，是对女权积极分子是一个打击。女权运动者们认为该法律规定具有歧视性，因为大多数夫妻最终都是妻子改成了夫姓。
The Japanese Supreme Court has upheld a law that married couples must have the same surname, in a blow to women's rights activists. Campaigners have said the law was discriminatory as most couples end up using the husband's surname.
然而，据日本NHK的报道，法院判决该法律规定不违反宪法。不过，法院判决另一条单独的法律，即离婚后六个月内不得再婚违反宪法。这两条法律都要追溯到十九世纪日本的明治时代。
However, the court said the law did not violate the constitution, public broadcaster NHK reported. It did, however, deem a separate law that stops women remarrying within six months of a divorce unconstitutional. Both sets of laws date back to Japan's 19th Century Meiji era.
法官itsuro Terada表示，在日本，娘家的姓也是可以随意使用的，这就缓解了同姓的规定带来的影响。他说，国会议员应该决定，是否通过“配偶的姓名独立”这条新立法。
Judge Itsuro Terada noted that among the Japanese there was already informal use of maiden names, which eased the impact of the surname law. He said parliamentarians should decide on whether to pass new legislation on separate spousal names.
传统上日本的妇女在婚后仍能够保留她们的名字，夫妻不同姓是被允许的，直到1898年，明治民法颁布这条法律作为封建家庭制度的一部分，要求妇女及儿童等家庭成员都要使用‘家氏'。1948年新的日本民法实施时，“家制度”正式被废除，然而夫妇同姓这个传统却保留了下来。
Women in Japan were traditionally able to retain their maiden names after marriage, until 1898 when the law was enacted as part of a feudal family system where all women and children came under control of the male head of the household. The system was abolished in 1948 - but the surname law has been retained.