Photo/Illutration Takeshi Hasuda, the head of Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto, speaks at a news conference in Kumamoto on Feb. 4. (Jun Kaneko)

KUMAMOTO--A hospital here said it plans to register a baby without the mother’s name after a woman gave birth anonymously even though it is unclear if the registration, the first such domestic case in Japan, is legal. 

Takeshi Hasuda, the head of Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto, made the announcement at a news conference on Feb. 4.

The woman, aged between 10 and 19, who lives in western Japan and gave birth in December, asked the hospital this month on the premises to register the birth without listing her name. The mother wants her baby to be placed into a special adoption system.

“Rather than being raised by me, the baby will be happier,” Hasuda said she told the hospital.

Jikei Hospital introduced its confidential birth system in December 2019 to prevent a mother from giving birth by herself at home that could place both her and the baby in danger.

Hasuda said at the news conference that the confidential birth system is “for a safe birth and the protection of a baby,” and asked for the public's understanding.

The system allows a woman who becomes unexpectedly pregnant to give birth by revealing her identity only to a hospital staff member. This allows the child to someday learn the identity of his or her mother if they so desire.

But there is no legal guideline for the system and Kumamoto city officials are advising the hospital to stop allowing confidential births.

According to the hospital, the woman consulted with the hospital in mid-November by email.

She told hospital staff that she wanted to give birth anonymously because she feared her mother would cut their ties if she found out about the pregnancy. The woman was also worried that her partner might beat her.

She came to the hospital in December to give birth.

Afterward, the hospital convinced her to reveal her identity only to a staffer.

She prepared a document for a special adoption and was released from the hospital.

The hospital kept in touch with her to confirm her willingness, thinking that she showed deep affection for her baby and might change her mind.

Hasuda said the hospital will register the birth at Kumamoto’s Nishi Ward office without writing the mother’s name in accordance with her wishes.

The hospital has contacted the Legal Affairs Bureau to ascertain if such an action could be deemed entering a false entry into the Original of Notarized Deeds.

It is hoping to receive a reply from authorities by the end of the month.

Hasuda said the hospital will register the birth after checking the reply from the bureau.

The hospital received copies of the woman’s health insurance card and a high school student ID card and will keep those copies in a safe to guarantee the right of her child to know the birth mother.

The woman told the hospital that it is ideal for the child to be provided the information about his or her origin when the child is about 18 to 20 years old, according to the hospital.

The hospital is expected to keep in touch with the woman from now on.

The baby had been sheltered at the hospital since the birth and was transferred to an infant home earlier this month.

The health ministry has replied to an inquiry from the city government and said the “confidential birth system does not violate an ordinance at first glance.”

The Justice Ministry has stated that it is “difficult to answer” if the hospital’s action to register the birth is illegal because it “should be concluded individually by an investigative organization based on collected evidence.”

Based on these statements, the city said, “It is difficult to deny the possibility that the (hospital’s action) has violated the law,” urging the hospital to stop the confidential birth system.

Jikei Hospital has also operated since 2007 a drop box system, called Konotori no Yurikago (cradle of storks), to save unwanted newborns that the mother can safely and anonymously leave in the hospital's care. 

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