Imperial conferment of decorations

Imperial conferment of decorations

Taku Yamamoto (front), a former House of Representatives lawmaker, heads to a conferment ceremony to receive the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Nov. 11, 2025. The honoree, whose real surname is Takaichi, is the husband of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Imperial conferment of decorations

Imperial conferment of decorations

Taku Yamamoto (3rd from L), a former House of Representatives lawmaker, is conferred the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun from Japan's Emperor Naruhito during a ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Nov. 11, 2025. The honoree, whose real surname is Takaichi, is the husband of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (2nd from L). (Pool photo)

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

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

Japan's House of Representatives' judicial affairs committee begins its first deliberations in 28 years on legislation that would give married couples the option of using separate surnames in Tokyo on May 30, 2025.

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

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

Japan's House of Representatives' judicial affairs committee begins its first deliberations in 28 years on legislation that would give married couples the option of using separate surnames in Tokyo on May 30, 2025.

Qiantong Ancient Town

Qiantong Ancient Town

View of Qiantong Ancient Town, the largest settlement of the Tong surname in Jiangnan, Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China, April 14, 2020.

Qiantong Ancient Town

Qiantong Ancient Town

View of Qiantong Ancient Town, the largest settlement of the Tong surname in Jiangnan, Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China, April 14, 2020.

Qiantong Ancient Town

Qiantong Ancient Town

View of Qiantong Ancient Town, the largest settlement of the Tong surname in Jiangnan, Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China, April 14, 2020.

Qiantong Ancient Town

Qiantong Ancient Town

View of Qiantong Ancient Town, the largest settlement of the Tong surname in Jiangnan, Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China, April 14, 2020.

Qiantong Ancient Town

Qiantong Ancient Town

View of Qiantong Ancient Town, the largest settlement of the Tong surname in Jiangnan, Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China, April 14, 2020.

Qiantong Ancient Town

Qiantong Ancient Town

View of Qiantong Ancient Town, the largest settlement of the Tong surname in Jiangnan, Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China, April 14, 2020.

Qiantong Ancient Town

Qiantong Ancient Town

View of Qiantong Ancient Town, the largest settlement of the Tong surname in Jiangnan, Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China, April 14, 2020.

Qiantong Ancient Town

Qiantong Ancient Town

View of Qiantong Ancient Town, the largest settlement of the Tong surname in Jiangnan, Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China, April 14, 2020.

Qiantong Ancient Town

Qiantong Ancient Town

View of Qiantong Ancient Town, the largest settlement of the Tong surname in Jiangnan, Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China, April 14, 2020.

Qiantong Ancient Town

Qiantong Ancient Town

View of Qiantong Ancient Town, the largest settlement of the Tong surname in Jiangnan, Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China, April 14, 2020.

Qiantong Ancient Town

Qiantong Ancient Town

View of Qiantong Ancient Town, the largest settlement of the Tong surname in Jiangnan, Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China, April 14, 2020.

Qiantong Ancient Town

Qiantong Ancient Town

View of Qiantong Ancient Town, the largest settlement of the Tong surname in Jiangnan, Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China, April 14, 2020.

Qiantong Ancient Town

Qiantong Ancient Town

View of Qiantong Ancient Town, the largest settlement of the Tong surname in Jiangnan, Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China, April 14, 2020.

Qiantong Ancient Town

Qiantong Ancient Town

View of Qiantong Ancient Town, the largest settlement of the Tong surname in Jiangnan, Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China, April 14, 2020.

Qiantong Ancient Town

Qiantong Ancient Town

View of Qiantong Ancient Town, the largest settlement of the Tong surname in Jiangnan, Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China, April 14, 2020.

Qiantong Ancient Town

Qiantong Ancient Town

View of Qiantong Ancient Town, the largest settlement of the Tong surname in Jiangnan, Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China, April 14, 2020.

Qiantong Ancient Town

Qiantong Ancient Town

View of Qiantong Ancient Town, the largest settlement of the Tong surname in Jiangnan, Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China, April 14, 2020.

Qiantong Ancient Town

Qiantong Ancient Town

View of Qiantong Ancient Town, the largest settlement of the Tong surname in Jiangnan, Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China, April 14, 2020.

Qiantong Ancient Town

Qiantong Ancient Town

View of Qiantong Ancient Town, the largest settlement of the Tong surname in Jiangnan, Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China, April 14, 2020.

Qiantong Ancient Town

Qiantong Ancient Town

View of Qiantong Ancient Town, the largest settlement of the Tong surname in Jiangnan, Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China, April 14, 2020.

PFW - Georgina Rodriguez Models For Vetements

PFW - Georgina Rodriguez Models For Vetements

Georgina Rodriguez paid tribute to her footballer boyfriend Cristiano Ronaldo as she walked in the Vetements Womenswear Fall/Winter 2024-2025 show during Paris Fashion Week on Friday March 1, 2024. The influencer, 30, wore a red dress which featured the number seven on the front and he surname of her partner. Photo by ABACAPRESS.COM

PFW - Georgina Rodriguez Models For Vetements

PFW - Georgina Rodriguez Models For Vetements

Georgina Rodriguez paid tribute to her footballer boyfriend Cristiano Ronaldo as she walked in the Vetements Womenswear Fall/Winter 2024-2025 show during Paris Fashion Week on Friday March 1, 2024. The influencer, 30, wore a red dress which featured the number seven on the front and he surname of her partner. Photo by Jana Call me J/ABACAPRESS.COM

PFW - Georgina Rodriguez Models For Vetements

PFW - Georgina Rodriguez Models For Vetements

Georgina Rodriguez paid tribute to her footballer boyfriend Cristiano Ronaldo as she walked in the Vetements Womenswear Fall/Winter 2024-2025 show during Paris Fashion Week on Friday March 1, 2024. The influencer, 30, wore a red dress which featured the number seven on the front and he surname of her partner. Photo by ABACAPRESS.COM

PFW - Georgina Rodriguez Models For Vetements

PFW - Georgina Rodriguez Models For Vetements

Georgina Rodriguez paid tribute to her footballer boyfriend Cristiano Ronaldo as she walked in the Vetements Womenswear Fall/Winter 2024-2025 show during Paris Fashion Week on Friday March 1, 2024. The influencer, 30, wore a red dress which featured the number seven on the front and he surname of her partner. Photo by ABACAPRESS.COM

PFW - Georgina Rodriguez Models For Vetements

PFW - Georgina Rodriguez Models For Vetements

Georgina Rodriguez paid tribute to her footballer boyfriend Cristiano Ronaldo as she walked in the Vetements Womenswear Fall/Winter 2024-2025 show during Paris Fashion Week on Friday March 1, 2024. The influencer, 30, wore a red dress which featured the number seven on the front and he surname of her partner. Photo by Jana Call me J/ABACAPRESS.COM

PFW - Georgina Rodriguez Models For Vetements

PFW - Georgina Rodriguez Models For Vetements

Georgina Rodriguez paid tribute to her footballer boyfriend Cristiano Ronaldo as she walked in the Vetements Womenswear Fall/Winter 2024-2025 show during Paris Fashion Week on Friday March 1, 2024. The influencer, 30, wore a red dress which featured the number seven on the front and he surname of her partner. Photo by ABACAPRESS.COM

PFW - Georgina Rodriguez Models For Vetements

PFW - Georgina Rodriguez Models For Vetements

Georgina Rodriguez paid tribute to her footballer boyfriend Cristiano Ronaldo as she walked in the Vetements Womenswear Fall/Winter 2024-2025 show during Paris Fashion Week on Friday March 1, 2024. The influencer, 30, wore a red dress which featured the number seven on the front and he surname of her partner. Photo by Jana Call me J/ABACAPRESS.COM

PFW - Georgina Rodriguez Models For Vetements

PFW - Georgina Rodriguez Models For Vetements

Georgina Rodriguez paid tribute to her footballer boyfriend Cristiano Ronaldo as she walked in the Vetements Womenswear Fall/Winter 2024-2025 show during Paris Fashion Week on Friday March 1, 2024. The influencer, 30, wore a red dress which featured the number seven on the front and he surname of her partner. Photo by Jana Call me J/ABACAPRESS.COM

PFW - Georgina Rodriguez Models For Vetements

PFW - Georgina Rodriguez Models For Vetements

Georgina Rodriguez paid tribute to her footballer boyfriend Cristiano Ronaldo as she walked in the Vetements Womenswear Fall/Winter 2024-2025 show during Paris Fashion Week on Friday March 1, 2024. The influencer, 30, wore a red dress which featured the number seven on the front and he surname of her partner. Photo by Jana Call me J/ABACAPRESS.COM

NY Times corrections 161 years later

NY Times corrections 161 years later

NEW YORK, United States - Photo shows The New York Times' article in the Corrections section on March 4, 2014, to report misspellings in an article on Jan. 20, 1853. The paper says the article published 161 years ago recounting the story of Solomon Northup misspelled his surname as Northrop and the headline misspelled it as Northrup. The movie "12 Years a Slave" based on his memoir won the best picture Oscar at the 86th Academy Awards on March 2.

Shimane farmer roots for ski jumper Takanashi with 'unbeatable' pear

Shimane farmer roots for ski jumper Takanashi with 'unbeatable' pear

MATSUE, Japan - A farmer in Yasugi, Shimane Prefecture, western Japan, shows a gigantic pear printed with the words "Takanashi the unbeatable!" in support of Japanese ski jumper Sara Takanashi competing at the Sochi Winter Olympics. The Chinese character for "nashi" in her surname is the same word for the pear in Japanese. The pear is on display until the end of the Games on Feb. 23, 2014.

Japan's top court says forcing couples to share surname constitutional

Japan's top court on Wednesday again ruled legal provisions forcing married couples to use the same surname are constitutional, upholding a Supreme Court judgment from 2015. The latest decision on a more than century-old provision based on the Civil Code and the family register law dismissed requests filed by three couples in 2018 to keep their separate surnames after local governments refused to accept their marriage registrations. The decision handed down by Presiding Justice Naoto Otani at the Supreme Court's Grand Bench, composed of all 15 justices, came at a time when families have become more diverse, and public opinion on surname sharing has shifted in Japan.

Forcing married couples to use same surname constitutional

Forcing married couples to use same surname constitutional

Plaintiffs seeking introduction of dual surnames for married couples enter the Supreme Court in Tokyo on Dec. 16, 2015. The top court ruled the same day that a century-old legal provision forcing married couples to use the same surname is constitutional. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Forcing married couples to use same surname constitutional

Forcing married couples to use same surname constitutional

Photo taken Dec. 16, 2015, at Japan's Supreme Court in Tokyo shows Chief Justice Itsuro Terada (C). The top court's Grand Bench ruled on the day that prohibiting women from remarrying for six months contravenes the Constitution, but forcing couples to use the same surname is constitutional. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Forcing married couples to use same surname constitutional

Forcing married couples to use same surname constitutional

Plaintiffs seeking introduction of dual surnames for married couples attend a meeting with their supporters in Tokyo on Dec. 16, 2015, after the Supreme Court ruled that a century-old legal provision forcing married couples to use the same surname is constitutional. They expressed disappointment over the ruling. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Forcing married couples to use same surname constitutional

Forcing married couples to use same surname constitutional

Kyoto Tsukamoto (L), one of the plaintiffs seeking introduction of dual surnames for married couples, chokes up with tears during a press conference in Tokyo after the Supreme Court ruled on Dec. 16, 2015, that a century-old legal provision forcing married couples to use the same surname is constitutional. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Top court gives mixed constitutionality judgments on marriage rules

Top court gives mixed constitutionality judgments on marriage rules

The Supreme Court rules in Tokyo on Dec. 16, 2015, that a legal provision forcing married couples to use the same surname is constitutional, while it found another rule prohibiting women from remarrying for six months unconstitutional. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Top court rules same-surname provision for couples constitutional

Top court rules same-surname provision for couples constitutional

Plaintiffs seeking introduction of dual surnames for married couples head to the Supreme Court in Tokyo on Dec. 16, 2015. The top court ruled the same day that a century-old legal provision forcing married couples to use the same surname is constitutional. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Top court to judge constitutionality of century-old marriage rules

Top court to judge constitutionality of century-old marriage rules

Photo shows Japan's Supreme Court in Tokyo on Dec. 16, 2015, shortly before it gives a ruling on the constitutionality of century-old legal provisions forcing married couples to use the same surname and prohibiting only women from remarrying for six months. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Top court to judge constitutionality of century-old marriage rules

Top court to judge constitutionality of century-old marriage rules

People line up outside the Supreme Court in Tokyo on Dec. 16, 2015, for gallery seats in high-profile cases over the constitutionality of century-old legal provisions forcing married couples to use the same surname and prohibiting only women from remarrying for six months. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Top court to judge constitutionality of century-old marriage rules

Top court to judge constitutionality of century-old marriage rules

Photo shows Japan's Supreme Court in Tokyo on Dec. 16, 2015, shortly before it gives a ruling on the constitutionality of century-old legal provisions forcing married couples to use the same surname and prohibiting only women from remarrying for six months. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Top court to hand down ruling on dual surname

Top court to hand down ruling on dual surname

Plaintiffs seeking the use of separate surnames for married couples attend a press conference in Tokyo on Nov. 4, 2015, after the Supreme Court concluded a hearing. The top court is expected to hand down a ruling by the end of 2015. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Top court to see if Civil Code constitutional on surnames

Top court to see if Civil Code constitutional on surnames

Freelance writer Emi Kayama (L), one of five plaintiffs arguing that a Civil Code article forcing married couples to choose a single surname is unconstitutional, attends a press conference in Tokyo on Feb. 18, 2015, as the Supreme Court decides its grand bench will examine the case. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Use of separate surnames should be allowed: ex-justice

Use of separate surnames should be allowed: ex-justice

Former Supreme Court Justice Yoshiki Yamaura gives an interview in Tokyo on Nov. 29, 2016, following his retirement in July. Yamaura, now a lawyer, said married couples should be allowed to use separate surnames under the Constitution, although the top court ruled in December 2015 that forcing couples to use the same surname is constitutional. Yamaura was against the decision. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Use of separate surnames should be allowed: ex-justice

Use of separate surnames should be allowed: ex-justice

Former Supreme Court Justice Yoshiki Yamaura gives an interview in Tokyo on Nov. 29, 2016, following his retirement in July. Yamaura, now a lawyer, said married couples should be allowed to use separate surnames under the Constitution, although the top court ruled in December 2015 that forcing couples to use the same surname is constitutional. Yamaura was against the decision. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo