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English>Statements and Opinions>Statements>Statement Calling for Applying the Newly Introduced Article 3, Paragraph 3 of the Nationality Act in a Manner that Gives Maximum Consideration to the Human Rights of Affected Children, and Reviewing the Nationality System as a Whole

Statement Calling for Applying the Newly Introduced Article 3, Paragraph 3 of the Nationality Act in a Manner that Gives Maximum Consideration to the Human Rights of Affected Children, and Reviewing the Nationality System as a Whole

The Act Partially Amending the Civil Code and Other Related Acts (Act No. 102 of 2022, “the Act”) was enacted by the Diet during its ongoing session. The Act cites “the perspective of protecting the rights and interests of children” as the reason for the proposal and part of it limits the period and procedures for contesting the effect of acknowledging paternity. This is a desirable amendment from the perspective that it ensures the stabilization of the familial relationship for the acknowledged child at an early stage.


However, the Act contains an amendment contrary to the direction of protecting “the rights and interests of children,” which is the amendment newly introduced as paragraph 3 under Article 3 of the Nationality Act (which sets a system to obtain Japanese nationality through acknowledging paternity). Under the newly introduced paragraph, the acquisition of Japanese nationality by the acknowledged child is to be denied in the event facts contrary to the acknowledgment are discovered with no time limits.


The amendment reflects the conventional administrative practice of not granting Japanese nationality if paternity is acknowledged against the facts. However, it could result in entrenching serious problems harming “the rights and interests of children” as pointed out by the JFBA in its “Opinion Concerning the Interim Report on the Amendment to the Civil Code (Law of Parent and Child)” dated March 18, 2021.


In other words, the amendment significantly destabilizes the status of children who have acquired Japanese nationality pursuant to Article 3 of the Nationality Act, exposing them to a risk of losing Japanese nationality already granted to them not only unilaterally but also at any point in their lives, including after becoming an adult. Furthermore, not only will it cause the children to retroactively lose Japanese nationality, but if they do not hold another nationality, they will become stateless, causing a situation that goes against the principle of nationality law to prevent statelessness and the recommendations laid down in international human rights law. It will also cause the children to be treated as foreign nationals without regular residential status in principle and be subject to deportation procedures under current immigration practices, putting them at risk of even losing the foundation to reside in Japan at the same time.


In addition, the possibility of Japanese nationals who are already adults and have accumulated various social activities, such as exercising their right to vote and eligibility for election, suddenly being retroactively “stripped” of their Japanese nationality at some point in their lives poses major instability from a social point of view.


These issues have been repeatedly brought up at the meetings of the respective Committees on Judicial Affairs of both the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors during the Diet’s ongoing session, resulting in a supplementary resolution being adopted by both Committees calling for the flexible and humane treatment of affected children in procedures related to naturalization or granting a residence status so that their legal status can be promptly stabilized, and another supplementary resolution being adopted by the Committee of the House of Councillors calling for keeping track of the number of cases of children whose Japanese nationality has been vacated retroactively and examining the existence or nonexistence of any issues in such cases. However, there is no guarantee that these measures will be taken in compliance with the above supplementary resolutions as long as the government maintains its current stance that granting a special residence permit or naturalization is at the extremely broad discretion of the Minister of Justice. Also, even if the children successfully acquire Japanese nationality through naturalization, their newly acquired Japanese nationality only applies from that point onward, leaving their original Japanese nationality which has been retroactively denied pursuant to Article 3, paragraph 3 of the Nationality Act unrestored.


Thus, Article 3, paragraph 3 of the Nationality Act solidifies the conventional administrative practice without taking into consideration “the rights and interests of children” and the stability of the social system, which is causing serious problems.


For these reasons, the JFBA calls for applying Article 3, paragraph 3 of the Nationality Act in a manner that gives maximum consideration to the human rights of affected children while following the supplementary resolutions adopted at the Diet, such as through the flexible operation for the acquisition of a residence permit (Article 22-2 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act), in order to avoid a situation where children whose Japanese nationality have been denied pursuant to Article 3, paragraph 3 of the Nationality Act are treated as foreign nationals without regular residential status, or even if they end up being illegal residents, procedures for naturalization or acquiring a special residence permit will be completed in the shortest possible period of time. The JFBA also calls for taking this opportunity to review the nationality system as a whole concerning the acquisition and loss of Japanese nationality while considering the progress made in internationalization.




December 26, 2022
Motoji Kobayashi
President of Japan Federation of Bar Associations

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