SUB CATEGORY :

USE OF DATA

ENTRANT COMPANY :

TAIYO KIKAKU CO., LTD., TOKYO

TITLE :

SATO 2531

BRAND :

THINK NAME PROJECT

ADVERTISER :

ASUNIWA

AGENCY :

DENTSU DIGITAL INC., TOKYO

CREATIVE ADVISORY :

HIROKI NAKAMURA/HISASHI TANAKA/
SHOJI TANIGUCHI/YASUHARU SASAKI/
JOHN MESCALL/JAYME BLASKO/
POLA MOTKA/SACHIKO NISHIHASHI

CREATIVE DIRECTOR :

KEI ISHIZUKA/SHIHO KURIHARA

ART DIRECTOR :

SHIHO KURIHARA

COPYWRITER :

KEI ISHIZUKA

AGENCY PRODUCER :

REMA KATO/YUTA IWANAMI/YOSHIYUKI DOBASHI

RESEACH & DATA ANALYST :

TOKO OKAWA/MOE KUDO/YU SEKIZAWA

DESIGNER :

KATSUTO TAMAGAWA/SHOTARO MAEDA/SUNAO ENDO

WEB PLANNER :

YUKI SATO

WEB PRODUCER :

TOMOHIRO MORIYAMA

CODER :

YUGO IKEDA

TRANSLATOR :

SOICHIRO NAKAMURA/ADAM GOTHELF

PR AGENCY :

PLATINUM INC., TOKYO

PR DIRECTOR :

SOICHI MURAYAMA

PR MANAGER :

KAKERU NISHIUMI/MAI SAKAI/KANA SATO

FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY :

TAIYO KIKAKU CO., LTD., TOKYO

DIRECTOR :

YOUDAI

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY :

HIDEYUKI HASHIMOTO/MIHO TANNO

FILM PRODUCER :

SHUHEI HOSOKAWA

LIGHTING :

YUKI MAESHIMA

PROFESSOR :

HIROSHI YOSHIDA

SPECIAL THANKS :

KENICHIRO USHIODA/YUMIKO YASUTA/TORU MATSUDA/
KEN HAGITANI/AIRI UYAMA

EDITOR :

YUSUKE OTSUKA

CAMPAIGN SUMMARY :

Japan is the only country with a law that requires married couples to share a surname.
Currently, 95% of married women adopt their husband’s name. But changing the law is challenging, when 90% of lawmakers are men.

Asuniwa, leading gender equality organization, partnered with Tohoku university’s Professor to highlight the future consequences of this antiquated law.
It concluded that 130,000 different Japanese surnames would be erased. “by 2531, Sato will be the only surviving surname in Japan.”
Sato is the most common surname in Japan, accounting for 1.53% of the population.

We presented our findings to the people of Japan at a press conference, inviting key media outlets. 40 entities – companies, music artists, manga characters, and professional athletes – renamed themselves "SATO" to draw attention and spark social conversation. Armed with this data, we then shared our findings with UN Women.
After years of stagnation on this issue, the UN issued a recommendation urging the Japanese government to revise the law within two years. 65% of elected officials supported the option of separate surnames, and a candidate who advocated for the change was elected prime minister.

INSIGHT :

Japan is the only country with a law that requires married couples to share a surname.
Currently, 95% of married women adopt their husband’s name. This is leading to various issues, including the loss of female identity and career setbacks.

But changing the law is challenging, when 90% of lawmakers are men. For half a century, civil society groups have advocated, on the grounds of gender equality, for the right of married couples to keep different surnames. However, politicians have not taken action.

Their appeals to address this as a gender equality issue have fallen on deaf ears. We therefore resolved to inspire change by offering a vision for Japan's future. Our belief is that by demonstrating how this discriminatory law could lead to a dire outcome, we can compel politicians to act.

STRATEGY :

We focused on two key data points regarding the practice of shared surnames in marriage:
1)50 million women’s surnames are lost every year due to the practice of women adopting their husband's surname after marriage.
2)Its contribution to declining birth rates: About a quarter of unmarried women in their 20s and 30s cited the prospect of changing their surname as a reason for not actively seeking marriage.

Based on these findings, we hypothesized that surnames in Japan might eventually disappear, and we conducted a simulation to explore this possibility.
In collaboration with Professor Yoshida from Tohoku University, we carried out an original study to project the long-term consequences of this outdated law.

The study concluded that, “By the year 2531, Sato will be the only surviving surname in Japan.”

The aim was to make both politicians and the public realize that 'If women are discriminated against, the individual identity of everyone, including men, will eventually be lost,' thereby accelerating the movement for legal reform.

CREATIVITY IDEA :

We decided to move the government with three ways:

A: Release of Shocking Simulation Data
Together with Professor Yoshida, we presented the results at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, revealing that "by 2531, Sato will be the only surname left." This was aimed at making government officials and the public realize that the issue of married couples sharing the same surname also impacts surname diversity.

B: A Social Movement Led by Companies and Artists
Many companies, artists, and professional sports teams changed their names to Sato, boosting word-of-mouth on social media. This was intended to raise awareness of the impact on businesses, female artists, and international sports teams.

C: Involving the United Nations
Taking advantage of the Japanese tendency to be influenced by international opinions, we presented this issue at the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Our goal was to have the UN issue a recommendation to the Japanese government.

EXECUTION :

Phase 1
On the morning of April 1st, we released the shocking result that "by 2531, all Japanese people will have the surname Sato" at a government agency. This press release was covered by over 1,500 media outlets across 102 countries.

Phase 2
By the afternoon of April 1st, 40 entities had changed their names to Sato. Companies updated logos, characters, and packaging; artists changed their name; manga characters and professional sports teams shared the change on social media. This movement inspired politicians to publicly announce their support for the introduction of optional separate surnames on social media.

Phase 3
In October, we presented this issue to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. The UN issued a recommendation urging the Japanese government to revise the law, with the issue of married couples sharing the same surname being highlighted as the top priority.

RESULT :

After years of stagnation on this issue, the UN issued a recommendation urging the Japanese government to revise the law within two years.
A record-breaking 73% of the public supports the introduction of optional separate surnames.
The study will now be included in curricula and textbooks to educate about gender discrimination.
65% of elected officials supported the option of separate surnames.
Additionally, a candidate who advocated for the law change was elected prime minister.

URL :

https://think-name.jp/