The central government is finally moving to catch up with the private sector on the use of maiden names in the workplace, when the Japan Patent Office is set to become the first government agency to permit the practice throughout the organization from September.The change, announced Friday, is part of the government's push for women's empowerment and comes shortly after Naoko Munakata, a former executive secretary to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, became the agency's first female commissioner earlier this month.In Japan, the Civil Code requires married couples to have the same surname. Although…READ FULL ARTICLE
