Study led by Tohoku University predicts that by the year 2500 all Japanese will have the surname 'Sato' The number of people with the surname Sato has multiplied by 1.0083 in recent years. In Japan, people only have one name and when getting married the couple can only choose one surname.
The study has been made public in the midst of the continuing debate in Japan about the aforementioned civil regulations on surnames. Many voices, including some from the ruling party, demand that husband and wife be able to keep their family names after getting married.