Ruling parties to discuss dual surname system.

The ruling coalition agreed to discuss a dual surname system for married couples but postponed the start of talks.

The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito agreed on discussions for a dual surname system for married couples. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito met over lunch and found common ground, but they didn’t set a start date for talks. Ishiba wants to build consensus within the LDP first, telling Saito to “wait a little more.” Saito suggested they could start discussions as early as January.

During the meeting, Saito also pushed for Japan to join as an observer at a nuclear weapons treaty meeting in the U.S. in March. Ishiba responded that the government has looked into other countries, like Germany, that attended these meetings and promised to share the findings with Komeito.

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