Japan hints at visa for Manjhi

Tokyo: : Japan’s Justice Minister on Friday hinted that authorities were ready to issue a visa for the baby girl born to an Indian surrogate mother from a Japanese father. The child’s fate had been jeopardised as the Japanese couple had divorced during the pregnancy. “I would like to handle the case in the direction of granting a visa,” Justice Minister Okiharu Yasuoka, who oversees Japan’s immigration policy, told reporters. “Whether to permit surrogate pregnancy is a matter to be discussed by respective institutions,” he said. “The ministry will study the possibilities under the law for the child’s future,” he added.

The case triggered national headlines in India initiating calls for stringent regulation of the country’s booming surrogacy business. Surrogacy is a controversial issue in Japan. The law does not prohibit it, but the society of obstetricians and gynaecologists ban it, citing in part the possibility for custody battles.

The girl, Manjhi Yamada, was born last month after eggs from an unknown donor were fertilised using the sperm of Ikufumi Yamada, 45, and implanted into the Indian woman’s womb. Yamada’s former wife no longer wants the baby. And, India does not allow single fathers to adopt baby girls and has complicated rules in general for foreigners wishing to adopt.

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