My wife and I recently got married in Tokyo, and she wanted to keep both her maiden name and my surname as a double-barrelled name (e.g., Tanaka-Schmidt). However, the family court declined her request.
From what we understand, Japan's koseki (family registry) system doesn't officially recognize double-barrelled surnames for Japanese citizens, even though this is common practice in many Western countries.
Has anyone else dealt with this situation? Are there any workarounds or alternative options we should know about?
by FintasysJP