Japan Press Weekly

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2011 November 9 - 15 [CIVIL RIGHTS]

Discriminatory inheritance rights against out-of-wedlock children in Japan

The Japanese Civil Code still differentiates children born outside of registered marriage in regard to succession of property although Japan has received many recommendations to change its laws from the United Nations.

Under the Civil Code, these children can inherit only half the amount of property a registered couple’s children can.

High courts have repeatedly ruled this regulation as unconstitutional, but the Supreme Court overturned the decision each time.

In August this year, the Osaka High Court again ruled that discrimination against out-of-wedlock children in succession of property violates Article 14 of the Constitution that provides for equality for all.

An equal division of parents’ property among children is called for by the United Nations. U.N. panels, such as the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on the Rights of the Child, made nine recommendations to the Japanese government between 1993 and 2010.

It is urgently necessary for Japan to amend its Civil Code.