Everyone in Japan could have the surname “Sato” in about 500 years unless the law is changed that forces married couples to share a last name, a study has found. “Sato”, meaning assistant or helper, is now the most common surname in Japan, according to Hiroshi Yoshida of Tohoku University.

More than 1.5 per cent of Japanese people held the name last year, and calculations show that the proportion increased 1.0083 times from 2022 to last year. If the growth continues at that rate, about half the Japanese population will be named Sato in 2446, rising to 100 per cent in 2531.

The Telegraph London