Which father is my real father?: Japan's 300-day rule
In early May, the Japanese government announced that it will take a special measure to recognise children born within 300 days of their mother's divorce, given that the mothers became pregnant after divorce. This announcement came after a group of divorced women with children raised the issue on the current civil law, sparking debate in the National Diet.
Section 2 of Article 772 of the Japanese Civil Code, implemented in 1898, stipulates that a child born 200 days or more after its mother's marriage took place, or within 300 days after its mother's marriage was dissolved or terminated, is considered to have been conceived during her previous marriage. This means that the child must be added to the koseki of its mother's previous husband, or family registry, which causes tremendous distress for the mothers and other people involved. In order to prove that the child is not biologically related to the former husband, this former husband has to testify before the court. Many of these mothers avoid contact with their former husbands, or do not want their children to be registered in their former husbands’ registries. In such cases, children do not have koseki.
The Ministry of Justice estimates that approximately 3,000 children are born under these circumstances every year. Those children who do not have family registries cannot receive various social services such as health care and pension programs, and are not issued passports.
Following the government's announcement, the issue has been extensively debated on many blog sites. An anonymous blogger argues that the law does not need to be changed.
もし、新しい旦那の子供だと言い張るならみなさん、状況をよく考えて下さい。その女性は、離婚後すぐ（翌日くらいには？）彼氏が出来、妊娠し結婚しています。そんなことありえますか？明らかに離婚前に不貞行為をおかしているようにしか思えません。侵していないとしても、離婚後すぐに妊娠というのはいかがなものでしょうか？自業自得としか思えません。この法律になんの不具合があるのでしょうか？
もう一件、女性の再婚禁止期間の短縮も検討されているみたいですが１８０→１００日たった３ヶ月で再婚を決意するようなスピード結婚って、これも再離婚の可能性がありますよね？おたがいをよく知らないで結婚するって・・知った仲だと言い張るならこれも離婚前の不貞行為が感じられます。そんな法律じゃいけないと思うのです。むしろ、雁字搦めにするべきだと思います。例えば、子連れ離婚した場合は、再婚できないとか。ニュースで流れる虐待の１００％近く、再婚家庭や同居家庭です。あきらかに、子連れ再婚にはハイリスクがあります。なんの罪もない子供が、信じていた実の親に裏切られ虐待を受けるのですよ。この、状況に方があきらかに深刻ではないのでしょうか？
On the other hand, Toranekojiji writes that the law is behind the times and calls for affirmitive relief.
離婚後に生まれた子どもの父親を定める「３００日規定」は、明治時代にできた民法の内容をそのまま受け継いでいる。
一般的な妊娠期間を考慮したものだ。しかし、離婚後の妊娠でも早産で「３００日」に足りないと、前夫の子になってしまう。離婚がすんなり決まるとは限らず、夫からの暴力で逃げていたり、離婚協議が長引くケースも少なくない。妊娠の時期より離婚成立が遅れると、再婚相手の子でも、別れた夫の戸籍に入る。
Divorce is not necessarily granted easily. It is not rare that divorce mediation can drag on in such a case as a woman is running away from her husband's violence.
[…]
離婚前の妊娠でも、ＤＮＡ鑑定や調停の記録、別居状態を示す住民票などで、子どもの父親が誰かを判断することはできるはずだ。法務省の運用見直しは、離婚後の妊娠であることを医師が証明すれば、３００日以内でも再婚した夫の子か非嫡出子として認めるものだ。一定の前進だが、これで救済されるケースはそう多くない。
離婚前の妊娠も見直し対象とした案は、“復古調”の家族観を持つ保守層の抵抗で頓挫している。長勢甚遠法務相は「貞操義務や性道徳」を持ち出した。女性の再婚禁止期間の短縮を盛り込んだことにも、自民党内の反発が高まった。
In the revision by the Ministry of Justice, if a woman obtains a doctor's note proving that she got pregnant after her divorce, then her child will be regarded as either her new husband's child or an illegitimate child. Although it is a step forward, not a lot of cases will not be solved by this.
A bill which takes into account revision of pre-divorce pregnancy situations has been held back by the conservatives with reactionary family values. Justice Minister Nagase Jinen brought up the argument of “fidelity and sexual morals”. There was backlach within the Liberal Democratic Party over the insertion of a shorter restrictive period for women to get remarried.
[…]
離婚で苦しんだ女性が、子どもの戸籍の扱いで再び苦しむ事態も解消したい。今回の運用見直しで結論とせず、より多くの親子を救済する法改正へ
論議を深めたい。
