The Supreme Court ruling Wednesday that upheld the constitutionality of a law that requires spouses to choose a single surname dealt a heavy blow to advocates who want to see change.
They worry Japan may have missed a chance to join the global trend of allowing married couples to have separate legal surnames.
The ruling also raised the question of whether a better gender balance among the top court's 15 justices might have resulted in a different outcome. Of the court's 15 members, only three are women.