The Osaka Family Court has approved the adoption of a 3-year-old boy by a woman in her 30s who changed her sex from male due to gender identity disorder (GID), the woman said Wednesday.

It is believed to be the first case in Japan in which a woman who has changed her gender has been approved as a legal mother through an adoption program.

When they apply to become foster parents, people with GID are sometimes questioned about their capability of forging "healthy parent-child ties."