Some social media users wrongly assumed a study, first reported on Monday, was an April Fools’ day prank, but Professor Yoshida said it wasn't a hoax.
Hiroshi Yoshida, a professor of economy at Tohoku University, has declared that if Japan continues to insist that couples must pick a single surname when they get married, every single Japanese person will be known as “Sato-san” by 2531.
His study was designed to accelerate the debate around permitting married couples to use separate surnames, and requiring an update a civil code dating back to the late 1800s.
“If everyone becomes Sato, we may have to be addressed by our first names or by numbers,” he said. “I don’t think that would be a good world to live in.”
According to the professor’s calculations, the proportion of Japanese named Sato increased 1.0083 times from 2022 to 2023. Assuming the rate remains constant and there is no change to the civil code on surnames, roughly half of the Japanese population will have that name in 2446. And, by 2531, everyone will be called Sato.
Couples in Japan have to choose which surname to share when they marry, but in 95 percent of cases, it is the woman who changes her name. However, the picture would be different if Japan’s government submitted to growing pressure to allow married couples to use separate surnames.