Japan Lower House Passes Civil Code Revision

Tokyo, Nov. 17 (Jiji Press)--Japan's House of Representatives passed on Thursday a bill to revise the Civil Code, including changes to provisions on the presumption of legitimacy and on the right to discipline children.

The bill was approved by a majority vote at a plenary meeting of the lower chamber of the Diet, the country's parliament. It is expected to be enacted during the current Diet session after deliberations at the House of Councillors, the upper chamber.

The Lower House vote on the bill was delayed from the previously scheduled date of Nov. 10 due to the resignation of Yasuhiro Hanashi as justice minister, the post responsible for the legislation, over an inappropriate remark on executions.

Under the current Civil Code clause regarding the presumption of legitimacy, a child born within 300 days of divorce is considered the child of the former husband, while a child born after 200 days from remarriage of the mother is treated as the child of the new husband.

The provision led to the issue of children not listed on family registers, as mothers do not submit birth registrations out of fear that their ex-husbands will be deemed the fathers of children they had with different men.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]