Mothers Challenge Japanese Nationality Law

[Mulboyne]

AFP: Japan set to give nationality to illegitimate children

Japan is set to reform its nationality law to recognise children born out of wedlock to foreign mothers after a benchmark Supreme Court ruling last month, a report said on Sunday. The justice ministry drafted the amendment so as to give Japanese nationality to children born to foreign mothers without consideration to their parents' marital status, the Japanese business daily Nikkei reported, without citing sources. The plan comes after the Supreme Court last month ruled it was unconstitutional to deny nationality to illegitimate children who were mostly born to Filipina entertainers working in Japan. The bill for the planned amendment was likely to be submitted to the next parliament session starting in late August or in September, the report said. According to official statistics, approximately 2,800 children born out of wedlock to foreign mothers reside in Japan, more than 2,000 of whom have Japanese fathers.

Japan, which largely regards itself as ethnically homogeneous, bases nationality on blood ties. It has rejected the idea of large-scale immigration even though it has one of the world's lowest birthrates. In Japan, nationality was traditionally passed down through the paternal line, with a child obtaining Japanese citizenship only if his or her father was Japanese. Japan changed the law effective from 1985 to permit either a mother or father to pass on their nationality, but imposed the condition that the father must recognise paternity while the child was still in the womb. The Tokyo High Court had last year refused to grant the plaintiffs Japanese nationality, saying that illegitimate passport seekers could abuse the law if fathers gave nationality to children already born out of wedlock.

[Buraku]

So does "Daddy" have to pay child support?

[maraboutslim]

Perhaps Japan will be the first modern nation with the balls to eliminate child support payments for children born out of wedlock. It's ridiculous that women can allow themselves to get pregnant, purposefully give birth, and then expect money from someone else.

Now, if you're married and decide together to have a child and then get divorced, sure, the father has a duty to support that child. But otherwise...I just don't see what's fair about child support payments from a man who has no ability to decide whether the child comes into existence or not. (and don't say he shouldn't have sex then: this is 2008 and there is no reason at all to connect sex with childbirth)

[Uhhuh35]

Perhaps Japan will be the first modern nation with the balls to eliminate child support payments for children born out of wedlock. It's ridiculous that women can allow themselves to get pregnant, purposefully give birth, and then expect money from someone else.

Right, the state should pay for your irresponsibility. And yeah it's all evil intent on the woman's part. I guess women "allow" themselves to get pregnant by "allowing" men to ejaculate in side them right?

Now, if you're married and decide together to have a child and then get divorced, sure, the father has a duty to support that child. But otherwise...I just don't see what's fair about child support payments from a man who has no ability to decide whether the child comes into existence or not. (and don't say he shouldn't have sex then: this is 2008 and there is no reason at all to connect sex with childbirth)

If you mean a man has no say as to whether the child gets aborted or not then yeah, I agree, we should have some say.
I don't know about you but I've always connected sex and childbirth, is there any other way to achieve it?
And I will say it: He should not have sex. If he doesn't want to have a child, then he shouldn't have sex. You shouldn't confuse Love and Lust. Love is unstoppable but Lust is controllable.

[maraboutslim]

Right, the state should pay for your irresponsibility. And yeah it's all evil intent on the woman's part. I guess women "allow" themselves to get pregnant by "allowing" men to ejaculate in side them right?

No, the state shouldn't pay. Before the woman decides she wants to allow that ejaculate to lead to a child, she should either be sure she has a man who is committed to contributing to raise the child (marriage is a decent way to be pretty sure of this), or she can decide she doesn't care and will support the child all on her own.

But in this day and age, there is simply no reason to base legal responsibilities on the idea that ejaculate leads to birth. That's why I say we should not connect sex and childbirth in any kind of causal manner. Sex just (sometimes) introduces sperm into the vagina. Big deal. The part that causes it to lead to childbirth is a bunch of stuff that has nothing to do with the sex act itself: such as the woman's choice to allow an egg to be released to grab that sperm and then to hold on to it for roughly nine months. That has nothing to do with sex.

And I will say it: He should not have sex. If he doesn't want to have a child, then he shouldn't have sex.

You're saying that men must accept becoming fathers and paying child support in exchange for having sex? But women don't have to accept that at all. They can have as much sex as they want and never have it lead to childbirth. Maybe there is nothing we can do about that: but we shouldn't also burden the man with a financial duty because of it. How can anyone argue this is fair for a modern society?

[Uhhuh35]

No, the state shouldn't pay. Before the woman decides she wants to allow that ejaculate to lead to a child, she should either be sure she has a man who is committed to contributing to raise the child (marriage is a decent way to be pretty sure of this), or she can decide she doesn't care and will support the child all on her own.

Right. And maybe all that should be decided before the sex act right?

But in this day and age, there is simply no reason to base legal responsibilities on the idea that ejaculate leads to birth. That's why I say we should not connect sex and childbirth in any kind of causal manner. Sex just (sometimes) introduces sperm into the vagina. Big deal. The part that causes it to lead to childbirth is a bunch of stuff that has nothing to do with the sex act itself: such as the woman's choice to allow an egg to be released to grab that sperm and then to hold on to it for roughly nine months. That has nothing to do with sex.

Wow. I don't know where to begin with that. Uh, is there some other way than a sperm and egg to cause a pregnancy that I don't know about? You must be joking right? And why are you minimizing the mans role in all that?

You're saying that men must accept becoming fathers and paying child support in exchange for having sex? But women don't have to accept that at all. They can have as much sex as they want and never have it lead to childbirth. Maybe there is nothing we can do about that: but we shouldn't also burden the man with a financial duty because of it. How can anyone argue this is fair for a modern society?

Well what else does having sex lead to? A college degree? The NBA Title? It leads to parenthood and nothing else. I wouldn't want any man weaseling out on his responsibility when it comes to fatherhood, it's the most important "job" we'll ever have.

[AssKissinger]

Wow. I don't know where to begin with that. Uh, is there some other way than a sperm and egg to cause a pregnancy that I don't know about? You must be joking right? And why are you minimizing the mans role in all that?

No shit, huh? Everyone knows that once you get in that hole and start pumping that pussy and you cum up in there that's the fucking process motherfucker. That makes babies! Slim, you don't know about that shit? Read this shit man, it will BLOW YOUR MIND

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copulation

[Samurai_Jerk]

Slim is correct. As long as women are the only ones with the right to choose, men should not be burdened with mandatory child support payments for children born out of wedlock.

[joshuaism]

So does "Daddy" have to pay child support?

I think it would be necessary to make "Daddy" pay child support so that anti-immigration wingnuts can't make up stories like this. Forcing the father to be financially responsible would make false paternity claims idiotic to pursue and no one could make claims of children being used as "anchor babies".

Uh, is there some other way than a sperm and egg to cause a pregnancy that I don't know about?

Sorry, can't pass this one up... There's surrogate mothers, in-vetro fertilization, artificial insemination... plenty of ways to have a child without copulation involved and many minimize the role of the father/sperm-donor. Not that it matters because I disagree with Slim too. Condoms have a great success rate at preventing pregnancy and protect against STDs too! And men have plenty of other birth control methods available to them (withdrawal, only nut on her face, only do anal, etc...). Birth control cannot just be a woman's responsibility.

[Greji]

Sorry, can't pass this one up... There's surrogate mothers, in-vetro fertilization, artificial insemination... plenty of ways to have a child without copulation involved and many minimize the role of the father/sperm-donor. Not that it matters because I disagree with Slim too. Condoms have a great success rate at preventing pregnancy and protect against STDs too! And men have plenty of other birth control methods available to them (withdrawal, only nut on her face, only do anal, etc...). Birth control cannot just be a woman's responsibility.

Damn, whatever happened to a good old sweaty rut in the hay?

[AssKissinger]

Slim is correct. As long as women are the only ones with the right to choose, men should not be burdened with mandatory child support payments for children born out of wedlock.

Men who impregnate these sorry cunts should have their balls cut off.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Men who impregnate these sorry cunts should have their balls cut off.

Which sorry cunts?

[AssKissinger]

The ones they stick their dicks in smartass

[maraboutslim]

Right. And maybe all that should be decided before the sex act right?

Why? As none of you seem to want to admit, it isn't the sperm entering the vagina that makes babies. It's a necessary component most times (invitro, etc. excepted), but a man has no guarantee that providing it will lead to childbirth. What leads to childbirth are all the things that are under the control of the woman: providing an egg for fertilization, and nurturing that shit for roughly the next nine months.

Considering that it is entirely up to the woman whether a child is born or not, it should be entirely up to them to support said child. They can do this by finding a man who agrees to help, sure, but they shouldn't be able to force a man to do so just because they chose to give birth.

Wow. I don't know where to begin with that. Uh, is there some other way than a sperm and egg to cause a pregnancy that I don't know about? You must be joking right?

I think Joshuaism covered this pretty nicely. My point wasn't about egg needing sperm, but only that ejaculation is only one way to lead to pregnancy. And that whether it leads to pregnancy and whether that pregnancy leads to childbirth are decisions/actions that the woman makes independent of the sex act itself. We should not be confusing the two in this day and age.

Well what else does having sex lead to? A college degree? The NBA Title? It leads to parenthood and nothing else.

God, i feel sorry for you. The rest of us think sex leads to pleasure, closeness, psychological well being, weight loss, and tons of other things that have nothing to do with parenthood. The thing that leads to parenthood is what the woman decides to do with her eggs and the sperm she happily accepted (we're talking about consensual relations here). She should be responsible for that choice.

Condom use is smart in this day and age of disease. But to say that just because a woman accepted some sperm one day, and then did absolutely none of the many things she could have done to prevent childbirth, that the man must pay for the child's upbringing is crazy to me.

[Greji]

If you all are just trying to talking me out of fucking, it ainta gonna work.

Wham, Bam, Thank ya Ma'am...

[Samurai_Jerk]

The ones they stick their dicks in smartass

It was a serious question. "These" implies a specific set of cunts.

[joshuaism]

Why? As none of you seem to want to admit, it isn't the sperm entering the vagina that makes babies. It's a necessary component most times (invitro, etc. excepted), but a man has no guarantee that providing it will lead to childbirth. What leads to childbirth are all the things that are under the control of the woman: providing an egg for fertilization, and nurturing that shit for roughly the next nine months.

So the woman is on the hook for providing an egg, but a man can't be held responsible for spilling his seed on fertile soil? btw, all pregnancies require sperm except for in cloning and parthenogenis, invitro and other options just use unnatural methods of aquiring sperm. Sex is the natural way things are done. It doesn't take much nurturing to bring a fetus to term, it's just a matter of letting nature take it's course. It practically requires deliberate action to prevent or end a pregnancy. So why can't you take said action and deny women your essence?

Condom use is smart in this day and age of disease. But to say that just because a woman accepted some sperm one day, and then did absolutely none of the many things she could have done to prevent childbirth, that the man must pay for the child's upbringing is crazy to me.

But are you doing one of the many things you can do to prevent childbirth? Do you stick around the next day so you can slip the girl the morning-after pill?

[Samurai_Jerk]

If a woman's right to receive child support payments for her bastard child wasn't basically guaranteed there would be fewer children born out of wedlock. That's a plus for society.

Why should a man be forced to ruin his life for an unwanted child when a woman is not? Why do men not have reproductive rights?

[American Oyaji]

Why do men not have reproductive?

Perfect example of someone who has "been in Japan too long".

Sorry SJ, gotta quote that one!

[Samurai_Jerk]

Perfect example of someone who has "been in Japan too long".

Sorry SJ, gotta quote that one!

Perfect example of someone who got distracted in the middle of editing a sentence.

[American Oyaji]

Perfect example of someone who got distracted in the middle of editing a sentence.

That's what I figured, but had to grab it because it was unintentional golden Engrish.

[AssKissinger]

Totally golden AO. What a treasure. Make a T-shirt!

SJ I mean any cunt that ends up fucking over the dad. She's a bitch and he's an asshole. Fuck them both. If you make a baby with a shitty woman it's your own damn fault. All of the world suffers for your indiscretion. So fuck the man's rights. Fuck all these dudes bitching about Japan stealing their kids. Fuck them for bringing these piece of shit kids into the world with their whore mothers. Fuck the mothers, too. And fuck their worthless kids who are just going to end up doing the same Goddamn thing again.

[tidbits]

Japan is a modern society that legallise the contraceptive pills only in end of 1999. Even now, you can't get these pills over the counter like in some countries, and I believe it is still not that commonly used among the single women. Seemed to me that, before year 2000, a woman could not take any precaution before sex and abortion seemed to be the option left for the women. Off course, what discussed here is the nationality issues, but I think the issue I mention above has a great impact on so many things and it show how conservative the Japanese society is in certain issues.

[Greji]

Totally golden AO. What a treasure. Make a T-shirt!

SJ I mean any cunt that ends up fucking over the dad. She's a bitch and he's an asshole. Fuck them both. If you make a baby with a shitty woman it's your own damn fault. All of the world suffers for your indiscretion. So fuck the man's rights. Fuck all these dudes bitching about Japan stealing their kids. Fuck them for bringing these piece of shit kids into the world with their whore mothers. Fuck the mothers, too. And fuck their worthless kids who are just going to end up doing the same Goddamn thing again.

Damn! That was a good one, even for you AK! Feel better now?

[Samurai_Jerk]

Japan is a modern society that legallise the contraceptive pills only in end of 1999. Even now, you can't get these pills over the counter like in some countries, and I believe it is still not that commonly used among the single women. Seemed to me that, before year 2000, a woman could not take any precaution before sex and abortion seemed to be the option left for the women. Off course, what discussed here is the nationality issues, but I think the issue I mention above has a great impact on so many things and it show how conservative the Japanese society is in certain issues.

Yeah, the fucking pill thing pisses me off. Most girls here refuse to take it because of all the propoganda that was spewed over the years to rationalize its ban. Japanese girls seem to think it's really dangerous.

[Mulboyne]

Yomiuri: Govt to grant illegitimate kids citizenship

The government plans to revise the Nationality Law to remove a provision requiring parents to be married for their children to obtain Japanese citizenship, according to government sources. The decision came after the Supreme Court ruled in June that denying Japanese citizenship to children born out of wedlock to Japanese fathers and foreign mothers is unconstitutional, the sources said. The revision bill is expected to center on the following two points:

-- Japanese fathers' acknowledgement of paternity will be the sole requirement for children to obtain Japanese citizenship, removing the requirement for parents' marital status from the provision.

-- Those who have falsely claimed paternity will face imprisonment or a fine of up to 200,000 yen.

The government plans to submit a bill to revise the law in the next extraordinary Diet session after obtaining approval from the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito, according to the sources. The plaintiffs in the Supreme Court ruling were born out of wedlock to foreign mothers and Japanese fathers. Though their fathers acknowledged paternity after the children were born, the children were not granted Japanese citizenship. Under the Nationality Law, children are not granted Japanese citizenship unless their parents are married or Japanese fathers acknowledge their paternity before birth.

The Supreme Court ruling said denying a child citizenship because his or her parents were not married was unconstitutional, saying the provision irrationally discriminated against such children. The ruling also said the provision requiring marriage between the parents was already considered unconstitutional in 2003, when the plaintiffs submitted applications to obtain Japanese citizenship. In line with the decision, the government plans to include a supplementary provision to enable children born out of wedlock to obtain Japanese citizenship retroactively for those who filed applications in January 2003 and after.

However, there is concern that the system could be abused if a child's citizenship is approved solely through a father's acknowledgement of paternity. For instance, foreign women living overseas might have Japanese men file false applications so that their children will be granted Japanese citizenship and the women would be able to obtain residence permits. Under the current law, even if those who are not a child's real parents submit an application for the child to obtain Japanese citizenship to the Justice Ministry's Legal Affairs Bureau, they will not be charged. The revised law is planned to establish a new clause to punish such actions, according to the sources.

[Mulboyne]

Mainichi: Japanese Filipino Children speak out in bid to have rights recognized

An emerging generation of youths born between Japanese men and Filipino women has been facing a wide range of problems, including difficulties in obtaining Japanese citizenship.

There are an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 Japanese Filipino Children (JFC) born between Filipino women who came to work in Japan -- many on entertainment visas during the 1980s -- and Japanese men. Among them, children whose fathers have yet to recognize them as their offspring are left without Japanese citizenship despite their bloodline and place of birth.

For JFCs without Japanese nationality, it is hard to get full-time jobs and become economically independent in Japan. Even with Japanese nationality, children living in the Philippines face hurdles to leave their country as their mothers need to meet certain criteria to receive visas to stay in Japan and the children can not re-enter the Philippines alone until 15 years of age as foreign minors under that age are not allowed to enter the Philippines unless accompanied by a guardian. Meanwhile, JFCs with Filipino nationality cannot leave the Philippines alone until age 18 under the country's immigration rules.

Even if they can live in Japan, their lack of Japanese ability often makes them subject to discrimination and prejudice at schools. A survey by the International Organization for Migration (IOM)'s Mission with Regional Functions in Manila shows that only 10 percent of JFC respondents from five regions in the Philippines speak Japanese, while 75 percent speak English and Tagalog.

The survey also shows that of the total 106 respondents in the Philippines, 39 percent were not recognized by their Japanese parent while 38 percent said they were. The former group without Japanese parent's recognition cannot obtain Japanese nationality, even if they grow up wanting to work and live in Japan. Meanwhile, only 17 percent of the respondents said their Japanese parents have been providing them with financial support.

In more serious cases, JFCs are suffering from mental and physical abuse from their stepfamily members, and in the most serious case, JFCs and their mothers in the Philippines fall pray to human traffickers who exploit their wish to come to Japan, according to the Geneva-based IOM and representatives of JFCs in Japan.

As part of its relief efforts, IOM's Japan office recently held a conference near Tokyo, where government officials from both Japan and the Philippines, as well as nongovernmental organizations, private companies, volunteer groups and other concerned parties gathered together to share knowledge and promote cooperation among organizations from different sectors to improve JFCs' welfare and basic human rights.

Among the participants of the unprecedented meeting were about 20 representatives of JFCs from both the Philippines and Japan. Some of them made tearful testimonies on their plight and hardships while struggling to live out their lives.

A 17-year-old JFC boy, who was born in Japan and raised in the Philippines from age 6 through 14, says he has seen his Japanese father only once, when he was 15. "I was so glad today that many dignitaries came to listen to our feelings," he said about the conference. He said one of the problems faced by JFCs is that some of them are not registered in Japan's family registry system, whose entry is limited to holders of Japanese nationality. "Because of the tight policy, it is not easy to obtain Japanese nationality. I hope the policy will be relaxed," he said.

Another participant, Ken Ishikawa, a 30-year-old JFC who is a graduate student in the Philippines, also says he met his father only once when he was 9. Still undecided whether to live in Japan in the near future because he is aware that "we won't be integrated into society," he believes that "by learning about Japanese culture, I can feel closer to my father." "We have two faces. If we only know the Filipino face, you don't feel you're complete. There is small enlightenment in knowing who you are," he said.

A 19-year-old JFC participant, Angelique Shimo, who was born in the Philippines and is currently enrolled in a university in Tokyo, hopes the government will give more financial support to education for JFCs. "If JFCs can get education, they can get good jobs. It's not that the government will give us jobs. We want more support for our education," she said.

A landmark decision by Japan's Supreme Court in June last year granted Japanese nationality to a group of 10 children born between unmarried Japanese fathers and Filipino mothers, paving the way for the revision of the Nationality Law to grant citizenship to children recognized by their Japanese fathers.

The latest calls by JFCs may also eventually move the government to change its policy concerning their very existence and identity. "An issue does not gain ground if it is kept in the dark," said a joint message issued by JFCs from both Japan and the Philippines who attended the IOM conference. "It is now time for us to have our voices heard."