For couples in Japan who can't have a child, adoption is not considered a viable option.

Seiko Noda, 50, a Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker who recently announced she got pregnant by using an egg from a woman in the U.S., wrote in a magazine that she was turned down by a private adoption agency because she works full time and, when she applied, was nearly 50 years old.

Is it difficult to adopt a child in Japan? What are the criteria to be adoptive parents, and how long does it take? Following are questions and answers on adoption in Japan: