Japanese goalkeep Zion Suzuki has made headlines not just for an impressive performance against the Netherlands at the 2026 FIFA World Cup but also for his multicultural background, which has ignited curiosity among fans about the origins of his surname. As Suzuki’s unique background takes center stage, fans have begun to wonder why many half-Japanese people use their mother’s surname for official purposes.
Despite Japan’s opening Group F match against the Netherlands ending in a 2-2 draw, Suzuki pulled off incredible first-half saves, alongside preventing Dutch striker Donyell Malen from finding the net during tense moments. As Suzuki’s performance went viral, the excitement of knowing the goalkeeper’s multicultural background also skyrocketed, prompting fans to scan Suzuki’s unique heritage online.
Suzuki was born in Newark, New Jersey. His father, hailing from Ghana, brings along the West African heritage, while his mother is from Japan, whose surname Suzuki has proudly carried since childhood. Suzuki has represented Japan since beginning his career at the U15 level.
Suzuki has, however, not stated any official reasons for adopting his mother’s surname. But one possible reason could be the same as Naomi Osaka’s, who also represents Japan on the global stage despite having Haitian heritage from her father’s side.
Like Zion Suzuki, Why Do Naomi Osaka & Other Half-Japanese People Use Their Mother’s Last Name?
Naomi Osaka was born to Leonard Francois, who hails from Haiti, and Tamaki Osaka, who is Japanese. Despite Osaka living in both Japan and the United States during her early years, her family decided to register her under her mother’s surname.
Japan has a unique family registry system called Koseki, which is a record of a family’s legal data. It requires family members to share the same surname that represents the entire family for registration in case of a domestic marriage. However, Japan’s family registry works differently for international marriages.
Since the foreign spouse of a Japanese national cannot get their own independent entry in the registry and can only appear in their Japanese spouse’s record, the child of the couple often ends up inheriting the surname of the Japanese spouse.
Despite the rigid rules, Japanese spouses can opt to use the surname of their foreign spouse. Still, many believe that the primary reason for maintaining the Japanese surname is for everyday convenience, which makes it easy to get through any kind of official paperwork in the country.
Another common narrative cited is that the Japanese family tradition has strong cultural ties to their country, where parents aim to link their children as closely as possible to Japanese cultural norms.
Other half-Japanese athletes have also adopted their mother’s maiden surname, such as basketball star Rui Hachimura, who competes under his mother’s Japanese surname.
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