View: So, how effective is naam ke vaste change, really?

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Sato? According to a recent study, by 2531, everyone in Japan will have 'Sato' as their surname. The reason is that because of a civil law adopted in the late 19th century, married couples must share the last name.

Conducted by Hiroshi Yoshida, a professor of economics, the study has projected that in 500 years, everyone in Japan will be called Sato-san, 'san' being the Nippon honorific equivalent to the Hindi 'ji'. 'If everyone becomes Sato, we may have to be addressed by our first names, or by numbers. I don't think that would be a good world to live in,' said Yoshida-san.

Currently, Sato is the most common Japanese surname, equivalent of the Anglo-Saxon 'Smith', and according to a 2023 finding accounts for 1.5% of the total population, followed by Suzuki. As the latest study was published on April 1, it was taken to be an April Fool's prank on social media. But Yoshida-san doesn't consider the Sato-isation of Japan a joke. 'A nation of Satos will not only be inconvenient, but also undermine human dignity.'

Pointing out that the number of Satos increased dramatically between 2022 and 2023, the professor predicted that if the common surname law for couples is not changed, by 2446 half the country's population will be called Sato, and by 2531 the figure will be 100%.

In response to Japan potentially reaching Satoration point, fans of Gertrude Stein might echo the famous quote from her 1913 poem 'Sacred Emily: 'A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose' — which after his falling out with her, in his 1940 novel, For