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TOKYO — A group of Japanese citizens filed a lawsuit Monday challenging a civil law that effectively stops women from keeping their surnames when they marry.
The 113-year-old law requires married couples to choose one surname for the man and woman to share, and custom means it is usually the man’s.
The lawsuit alleging that this violates constitutional equality is drawing attention to the rights of women in a country where they are underrepresented in corporate, academic and political ranks.
