Japan Diet begins debate on dual surname bill for 1st time in 28 yrs

Japan's parliament on Friday began its first deliberations in 28 years on legislation that would give married couples the option of keeping different surnames.The passage of any of the three bills submitted separately by three opposition parties, however, looks unlikely during the current Diet session through late June, despite growing public acceptance of their push to change the longstanding rule requiring married couples to share a single family name.The ruling Liberal Democratic Party led by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who heads a minority government, remains reluctant to allow the c…READ FULL ARTICLE