2008.06.12 up
On 10 June 2008, a "Bill to partially revise the Law concerning Special Rules regarding Sex Status of a Person with Gender Identification Disorder" was passed and approved by the plenary session of the House of Representatives.
Law concerning Special Rules regarding Sex Status of a Person with Gender Identification Disorder was enacted in 2003, and approved the change of sex status on the family register for a person who, against his/her defined biological sex, has the persistent conviction that he/she belongs to the opposite sex and meets the following items; 1) an applicant should be of or above the age of 20 years, 2) an applicant should be currently unmarried, 3) an applicant should not have a child at present, 4) an applicant should either not have gonads or have permanent loss of gonadal function, and 5) an applicant should have body parts similar to the external genital features of the opposite sex. The above revision eased the criteria including the requirement that an applicant should not have a child yet to reach adulthood.
In 2007, there was a case where the change of sex status was not approved because the applicant had a child, and the case was dismissed by the Supreme Court. (19 June 2008)
Sources:
· "Bill to partially revise the Law concerning Special Rules regarding Sex Status of a Person with Gender Identification Disorder" (House of Representatives) [Japanese]
http://www.shugiin.go.jp/itdb_gian.nsf/html/gian/honbun/houan/g16902021.htm