A fortnight after she was born to a Japanese father and an Indian surrogate mother, Manji Yamada may finally be heading home.

On Friday evening, the Municipal Council of Anand, where Manji was born, issued a birth certificate in the name of her father Dr Ikufumi Yamada, offering the baby her first chance of traveling to Japan.

“We issued her a birth certificate in her father’s name, so that she can go to Japan with him,” Shejal Patel, president of Anand Municipal said.

However, the certificate is just a small step ahead of the legal and diplomatic hurdles posing the Yamada family.

Based on the birth certificate, Yamanda is now expected to approach the Ministry of External Affairs on Monday and request for a “travel document” for Manji. A travel document entitles its holder to leave the country. However, it’s no proof of nationality like a passport.

“The baby can be taken to Japan only after getting a visa from the Japanese embassy,” said one of the legal advisers of Yamada.

The National Council of Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has also rallied behind and is said to have approached the Ministry to get her a travel document.

However, members of the NCPCR feel that it all rests with the Japanese embassy. “Without a visa, the travel document would be of no use,” Shanta Sinha, an NCPCR member said.

Japanese regulations don’t allow surrogacy and there are no clear guidelines about the status of a surrogate child.

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