However, the number of nuclear families only slightly increased until 1980, when it reached 63%, and the Confucian principles underlying the "ie" concept only gradually faded and are still informally followed to some degree by many Japanese people today.
However, "current law in Japan states that the mother of a child is the one who gives birth to the baby,"[13] and that children must be registered in the koseki (family registry) to be a Japanese citizen.
[14] A famous case of this issue is that of the Japanese actress, Aki Mukai, who had twin sons through an American surrogate mother in 2003.
[15] In 2005, a Tokyo-based sperm bank called Excellence began offering surrogate mothers and assisted conception services in South Korea to Japanese couples.
[16] In 2006, a doctor enabled a 61-year-old woman to carry the child of her daughter who was unable to give birth herself after cancer treatment.
'[17] The Japanese Justice Minister, Okiharu Yasuoka, indicated to reporters that he would consider granting Manyi a visa but that the legality of the birth was something that would need to be addressed in the near future.
'Whether to permit surrogate pregnancy is a matter to be discussed by respective institutions...The ministry will study the possibilities under the law out of consideration for the child's future.
[17] "The son of a wealthy IT entrepreneur, Mitsutoki Shigeta attracted controversy in 2014 after Thai officials raided his flat in Bangkok on suspicion of human trafficking and found at least nine babies, nannies and a pregnant woman.
[23] "In November 2003, the first court ruled against the mother on the grounds of 'common sense' saying it was impossible to recognize the father-child relationship in such a case, and that there was little social awareness for acknowledging a deceased man as a child's father, even if his sperm was used.
'No parent-child relationship in a legal sense can be recognized, given the father died before she got pregnant and there is no possibility of the baby being dependent or receiving inheritance', said Justice Ryoji Nakagawa, who heard the appeal.
"[22] In 2004, Seiko Noda, a member of parliament for the Liberal Democratic Party, published a book entitled 'Watashi Wa Umitai' (I Want To Give Birth) detailing her unsuccessful treatments and the social stigma that accompanies infertile women in Japan.
[24] In 2015, the ethics committee of the Japanese Institution for Standardising Assisted Reproductive Technology approved the country's first donations of eggs from women unrelated to the recipients.
[25]) One study noted that "any children born as a result of the egg donation must be notified of this fact before they enter elementary school.
Children born in Japan as a result of a sperm donation are currently unable to learn the identity of the donor.
"[26] At that time there were also no regulated sperm banks in Japan, the first, the Mirai Life Research Institute (みらい生命研究所) in Saitama Prefecture's Koshigaya City, not being established until July 2021.
"[26][27] Furthermore, official sperm donation in Japan is limited to legally married couples or hoteki fufu (法的夫婦); "single women (officially called “elective single mothers” or sentakuteki shinguru maza (選択的シングルマザー)), same-sex couples, and de facto married couples of female-to-male (FTM) trans persons who do not meet the conditions for gender reassignment in the family register are currently excluded from receiving sperm donation.
"[27] The lack of donors caused a surge in a so-called "black market" of mail orders made via social networking and 140+ websites, "many nothing more than hook-up scams masquerading as official medical resources.
"[27] Then-candidate for Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, in a 2020 candidacy speech, announced plans to make fertility treatments more widely available by including it on insurance coverage.
[citation needed] Joint custody has not legally recognized in Japan[31] until 2024, when a new law was passed introducing that concept, to be applied from 2026.