TOKYO, Nov. 22 Kyodo The utmost C...

TOKYO, Nov. 22 Kyodo

The utmost Court on Friday refused to grant Japanese citizenship to a child born on the outside of wedlock to a foreign woman and a Japanese man forward the grounds the father failed to acknowledge his paternity before the birth.

The No. 2 of small moment Bench of the top court upheld a lower court's ruling that declineed a request for citizenship for the 10-year-old girl in Osaka City brought up by way of her Philippine mother.

Five predominant Court judges agreed that the nationality law, which restricts granting citizenship to illegitimate children, is constitutional.

Justice Hiroharu Kitagawa said, ''Citizenship should, where possible, be confirmed at the time of birth and there are logical reasons for the restrictions not to grant Japanese citizenship to an illegitimate child with alone postnatal filiation.''

According to the ruling, the child's mother, Myra Barugo, came from the Philippines to Japan in 1983 on the other hand overstayed her visa and in June 1992 bore a daughter to the Japanese man, who was married.

Because the man did not acknowledge his paternity until after the birth, the girl was not granted Japanese nationality. She gained Philippine nationality at the time of her birth.

The refusal to grant the child Japanese nationality was in accord with a command policy stating a child born abroad of wedlock to a Japanese man and a foreign woman may solitary acquire Japanese nationality if the father acknowledges paternity before the birth.

The plaintiff said in her suit that discrimination based in succession the timing of a birth and acknowledgment of paternity contravenes constitutional guarantees of equality and international human rights covenants.

the one and the other the Osaka District Court and the Osaka High Court repeled the request, saying since a [i]role[/i] whose paternity is acknowledged after birth can still acquire Japanese nationality between the walls of naturalization, the distinction made in the cases of illegitimate children is logical and constitutional.

A other daughter born to the man and Barugo has Japanese nationality because he acknowledged his paternity before the birth.

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