Majority favor reviewing law on birth of child within 300 days of divorce

The Mainichi Shimbun
May 1, 2007
Source: http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20070501p2a00m0na017000c.html

More than 70 percent of those polled by the Mainichi said the law stating that children born within 300 days of a divorce are presumed to be the offspring of the woman's former husband should be reviewed.

Under article 772 of the Civil Code, divorced women cannot register the birth of a child under the name of their new husband if the baby is born within 300 days of a divorce.

On April 28 and 29, the Mainichi asked 1,085 people whether the article should be reviewed or not. Eighteen percent said no review was necessary, while 73 percent said it should be reconsidered.

The Justice Ministry plans to announce that it will recognize a child as the offspring of the woman's current husband if it was conceived after her divorce.

Some 68 percent of those polled said children conceived even before their mothers' divorce should be acknowledged as the offspring of their current husband, while 24 percent were opposed to the idea.

The Mainichi also asked those in support of reviewing the article whether they approve of the use of DNA analysis to determine the parent of a child. Some 82 percent said they would support the use of DNA, while 12 percent were opposed to the idea.

The Japan Medical Association, a major organization consisting of medical doctors, has been wary about the use of DNA analysis to determine the parent of a child. (Mainichi)

May 1, 2007