Japan top court upholds law on married couples' surnames
The Japanese Supreme Court has upheld a law that married couples must have the same surname, in a blow to women's rights activists, the BBC reported.
Campaigners have said the law was discriminatory as most couples end up using the husband's surname.
However, the court said the law did not violate the constitution, public broadcaster NHK reported.
It did, however, deem a separate law that stops women remarrying within six months of a divorce unconstitutional.
Both sets of laws date back to Japan's 19th Century Meiji era.