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Chapter 13 - Donor Anonymity and the Rights of Donor-Conceived People in Japan

from Part III - Institutionalised Resistance to Openness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 July 2023

By
Yukari Semba
Edited by
Fiona Kelly ,
Deborah Dempsey  and
Adrienne Byrt
Fiona Kelly
Affiliation:
La Trobe University, Victoria
Deborah Dempsey
Affiliation:
Swinburne University of Technology, Victoria
Adrienne Byrt
Affiliation:
Swinburne University of Technology, Victoria
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Summary

In Japan, research on issues of donor conception has been accumulating for several decades, and the need for legislation concerning donor conception is now recognized. Since the early 2000s, donor-conceived individuals have begun to speak out for the right to know their biological origin, and the general public has come to understand the importance of this right. However, until recently, no relevant law or legal regulation existed in Japan. This chapter (1) introduces the historical and cultural background of sperm donor anonymity in Japan; (2) reviews the positions of various government committees since the late 1990s; (3) provides an overview of how donor offspring, parents, and intended parents of donor-conceived children have dealt with the issues; and (4) discusses the reasons for the slow pace of legislation and the Japanese government’s failure to recognize the right of donor offspring to obtain donor information.

Keywords

donor conceptionJapandonor anonymityrights to obtain donor informationdonor offspringlegal regulationslegislation
Type
Chapter
Information
Donor-Linked Families in the Digital Age
Relatedness and Regulation
 , pp. 229 - 248
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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