Photo/Illutration Takeshi Hasuda, the head of Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto city, speaks to reporters in the city’s Chuo Ward, after being given a response to his questions by the Kumamoto District Legal Affairs Bureau on Feb. 10. (Rina Horikoshi)

KUMAMOTO--The Kumamoto District Legal Affairs Bureau has instructed a hospital here to have a newborn recorded in a family register, even if the birth of the baby is not officially registered.

The directive follows a request from Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto city for a legal opinion on its confidential birth system, which seeks to register a baby without the mother's name. 

As for the confidential birth system, which grants anonymity to the mother, the legal affairs bureau said on Feb. 10 it cannot make a judgment on its legality, echoing the central government's stance on the issue.

However, it added, "A baby with a Japanese nationality should be recorded in a family register as quickly as possible.”

To achieve this, it said the hospital should give the Kumamoto city government information on the baby’s birthplace and birthdate, citing a rule in the Family Register Law that allows creation of a family register through a mayor's authority, even when the birth has not been registered.

The bureau gave this response in writing to Takeshi Hasuda, the head of the hospital, when he visited it on Feb. 10.

After being given the bureau’s opinion, Hasuda told reporters that he would put on hold the registration of the birth, which he had planned to do on Feb. 14. He cited the possibility that police would search the hospital and confiscate information on the baby as a result.

However, he also said that he aims for a family register to be created for the baby using the mayor’s authority provided that it would not cause the infant any harm.

In December, a teenage girl gave birth anonymously at the hospital. She disclosed her identity only to a hospital staff member in charge of the office for consultations on newborns.

Acceding to her desire for a confidential birth, Hasuda had announced that he intended to register the birth at the city government without listing her name.

Hasuda had asked the legal affairs bureau on Jan. 13 in writing whether registering a birth without listing the mother’s name would equate to the offense of putting false information in a notarized document. He asked for a response by the end of February.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida spoke about the confidential birth system, for which there is no legal framework in Japan, when responding to a question at the Lower House on Jan. 20.

“There is nothing (about the confidential birth system) that can be said right away to be in breach of laws under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, including the Child Welfare Law and the Medical Practitioners Law,” he said.

However, he added, “On the question of whether a confidential birth is illegal under the criminal law system, I think cases should be assessed individually based on evidence collected by investigative authorities.”

Related News