Japan's Inadequate Legal Framework for the ‘Right to Know One’s Origins’: A Comparative Law Study Focusing on New Zealand

Even if I want to know my birth parents,
it is cruel that I cannot get any information.

Could you start by introducing your research themes?

Broadly, my research covers three areas: issues surrounding assisted reproductive technology; problems of family formation and parent-child relationships without blood ties, such as in adoption or foster care; questions of parental authority and child custody, including visitation after divorce and enforcement of child support.
 
Today, I would like to focus on the issue of a child’s “right to know their origins,” which relates to assisted reproduction and non-biological parent-child relationships.
 
In society, not all children are raised by their biological parents. Some are raised as adopted children, while others grow up in institutions or with foster parents. Furthermore, through assisted reproductive technology, some are born using donated sperm or eggs from third parties outside the couple. For these children, if they wish to know who their biological parents are but cannot access that information, or if no such information exists, that situation can be extremely harsh. However, Japan’s legal framework regarding this right to know one’s origins remains insufficient.
 
Although the bill was ultimately withdrawn, the Special Assisted Reproduction Bill proposed in February 2025 included provisions regarding the right to know one's origins for the first time. However, even if a child born through assisted reproductive technology wishes to know their biological parents, information that could identify them, such as names or address, cannot be disclosed without the donor’s consent. The bill’s content consistently prioritizes the donor’s position.
 

What is the situation in New Zealand, the country you focus on?

New Zealand is a country where the child’s right to know their origins is placed above adults’ rights. Comparative law, the study of different countries’ legal systems, is one of my fields, and I specialize in New Zealand within this comparative law.
 
While a few countries legally recognize the child’s right to know their origins, New Zealand goes further by granting not only children but also biological parents, adoptive parents, and foster parents the right to access relevant information about one another. For assisted reproduction, the government operates a centralized information system. Children can request disclosure as early as age 16, and generally by age 18. Donors, when they agree to donate, must consent to disclosure once the child makes a request; they cannot later refuse.
 
Additionally, in adoption cases, if a child wants to meet their biological parents but the parents do not, the parents are encouraged to write a letter explaining the reasons. In such cases, a professional such as a social worker acts as an intermediary to explain the circumstances to the child. They also support visitation and help families gradually move toward direct communication without support.
 
Considering New Zealand’s approach to open family relationships as a model for Japan, I began my research by focusing on their adoption system. New Zealand, having accumulated extensive experience with adoption, has successfully applied that knowledge to developing legislation concerning assisted reproductive technology.
 

Photo: Photographs taken during the investigation in New Zealand
 

There are no national differences in a child’s wish to know their birth parents
or in the responsibilities adults have toward them.

It seems Japan and New Zealand have very different views of family.

Yes. In Japan, there is a strong belief that raising children is the sole responsibility of the birth mother. In contrast, New Zealand embraces the idea that everyone can participate in raising children in relaxed way. As long as there are people who can care for children, people who want to, and an environment that supports them, parenting can be collaborative, regardless of blood ties. The qualification for being a parent is not whether you gave birth, but whether you can pour love into the child and fulfill your responsibilities toward them. So, it broadly recognizes family formation not based on blood ties for all people.

Homosexuality and being single have absolutely no bearing on one’s qualifications to be a parent, that is why New Zealand enables such individuals to have children through assisted reproductive technology and surrogacy. I believe Japan will eventually recognize same-sex marriage, and there are same-sex couples who wish to have children. Yet few Japanese researchers are studying the legal framework needed to support them. I believe the research I am currently undertaking could contribute in this area.
 

But changing people's minds in Japan, where blood ties are so important, seems difficult.

 
Certainly, there are differences between Japan and New Zealand, a nation of immigrants. Still, the child’s desire to know who their parents are remains the same. Furthermore, the responsibility of the adults involved in a child’s birth and upbringing, including biological parents, donors, surrogates, adoptive or foster parents, to take responsibility for the child does not differ between countries.
 
Because children cannot choose the circumstances of their birth, when they wish to know their genetic origins, institutional frameworks must be designed to provide that information. Furthermore, Japan currently has many children in need of support. Japan must expand adoption and foster care to support children who need families. When the number of families without blood ties increases, law and systems governing relationships with biological parents will become crucial.
 

Motivated by an interest in issues affecting socially vulnerable people,
Embarked on a full-fledged research path after entering graduate school

What led you to pursue this research?

 
Originally, I planned to become a high school teacher. As an undergraduate, I studied the psychology, medicine, and education of children and people with disabilities, and also gained clinical experience. Through this, I became deeply interested in the social challenges surrounding vulnerable populations, including their environments, underlying circumstances, and legal frameworks.
 
In my master’s program, I researched social and legal issues related to safeguarding the rights of children and women. My master’s thesis focused on the approval and over-the-counter availability of emergency contraception. Although this was more than 20 years ago, recent progress toward OTC approval in Japan makes me very glad.
 
I advanced to doctoral studies and began serious research around my second year, aiming to become a researcher. I have disliked the words “normal” and “traditional,” I questioned the prevailing view that marriage and having biological children with a spouse were inevitable. Decisions such as whether to marry, whether to have children, and whether to raise them are matters of individual choice, not social compulsion. I believed who you form a family with, what kind of family you create, and whether to continue that family should be determined and practiced under one’s own responsibility. That belief led me to study legal issues concerning family formation, sexual self-determination, child abuse, adoption and foster care, and assisted reproductive technology. That continues to this day.
 

Toward a society where non-biological parent-child relationships are accepted
and children do not suffer because of their origins

 
What sustains your research throughout all this time?

 
Indeed, it’s the voices of those directly involved. I try to listen to those born through assisted reproduction or same-sex couples who want children. Their experiences continue to inspire and guide my research.
 
Many families without blood ties live happy lives. Seeing these families makes me hope that society will one day view such families as entirely ordinary.
 

Finally, what are your future goals?

 
With the progress of assisted reproduction, children are becoming less “born” than “created.” This shift requires legal systems that secure the rights of children, donors, and recipients alike, especially regarding the child’s right to know their origins. My aim is to make legislative proposals grounded in the voices of those directly affected.
 
Furthermore, having researched the right to know one’s origins for many years, I have increasingly been invited to symposia and lectures concerning “baby hatches” and confidential births. In Kumamoto, Jikei Hospital’s “Kounotori Cradle” baby hatch is well known. Recently, it has been reported that Izumisano in Osaka has moved toward introducing baby hatches and confidential births at the municipal level. I believe further research is needed on the legal status of children, biological parents, and adoptive parents in such contexts, so that we can develop appropriate legal frameworks and put them into practice.

Related links:

ResearchMap https://researchmap.jp/7000017115?lang=en
Faculty of Law (in Japanese) https://www.law.kumamoto-u.ac.jp/staff/p3-ua.php