Photo/Illutration The plaintiff expresses her disappointment on Feb. 28 after the Tokyo Family Court rejected her claim to be legally recognized as the parent of the child she is raising. (Yuri Murakami)

The Tokyo Family Court has ruled against a transgender woman seeking legal recognition that she is the biological father of two children.

The court ruled that Japan’s legal definitions are ultimately more important than biological ties in officially determining a parent-child relationship.

“I am extremely sad,” the plaintiff said at a news conference after the Feb. 28 ruling, “and I feel there is a contradiction in not recognizing me as a parent because I am helping raise the children and I have biological ties (to them).”

The transgender woman, who is in her 40s, had her sperm frozen before undergoing sex reassignment surgery. Her partner then used the sperm to give birth to two daughters.

But while the partner has been officially recognized as the mother of the children, the transgender woman was forced to file a lawsuit after a local government office refused to recognize her as the father.

Presiding Judge Yasushi Ogawara of the Tokyo Family Court ruled that the current legal system does not allow the plaintiff to be legally recognized as being in a parent-child relationship.

The ruling said that a major precondition of the Civil Law is that a father must be a male and that because the plaintiff had changed her gender to female, she could not be recognized as the father.

Masayuki Tanamura, a professor of family law at Waseda University, pointed out the Civil Law provisions were written in the Meiji Era (1868-1912) and based on the notion that there are only two genders, with the male being the father and the female the mother.

“Rather than simply write off families that do not match a form based on male and female genders, discussions should be held about revising the law, as well as providing social support,” Tanamura said.

The plaintiff said not being recognized as their father also disadvantages her when it comes to tax matters.

While the ruling did recognize her biological ties to the children, it said that does not equate to a legal parent-child relationship. The ruling also said interpreting the provisions of the Civil Law means it is not possible to recognize a mother-child relationship for a woman who did not give birth to the baby.

The law that allows for sex reassignment surgery for those diagnosed with gender dysphoria went into effect in 2004. According to judicial statistics, between 2004 and 2020, more than 10,000 individuals have legally changed their gender status.

According to the Osaka-based nonprofit organization Nijiiro (rainbow) Diversity, about 2,000 same-sex couples have used the partnership programs set up by local governments. Same-sex marriages are not legally recognized in Japan.

A small number of local governments have begun programs that recognize the children of same-sex couples as family members.

Tokyo-based Kodomap, which provides support to sexual minorities raising children, said about 140 such individuals were raising children as of 2021.

Satoko Nagamura, who heads the group, said people not recognized as parents, such as the transgender woman, have to make preparations for contingencies because of the way the legal system works, such as by creating a notarized will to guard against unexpected developments.

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