GIFU (Kyodo) A family court in Gifu Prefecture has rejected a request filed by a male-to-female transsexual to officially register her as a woman, because she fathered two sons before the sex change.
Atsuko Mizuno, 44, said Monday the Gifu Family Court rejected in a Jan. 16 decision her request on grounds that the law only allows people diagnosed with gender identity disorder to register their sex change if they do not have children.
The law, implemented in July 2004, is based on the reasoning that children would be confused if a parent with such a disorder seeks to officially register a gender change.
Mizuno filed the request at the family court on Dec. 24. This was the first attempt by a parent to change the registered gender, a group supporting her said.
"I want to prove that it is the legislation and the family court ruling that are making things confusing," said Mizuno, who has two sons, aged 12 and 14.
Mizuno was diagnosed with the disorder in 2001 and changed his registered name to Atsuko -- a female name -- after undergoing a sex-change operation abroad.
Under the law, people diagnosed by at least two doctors as having a different psychological makeup from their biological sex can apply to change their registered sex.
They must also be aged 20 or above and unmarried, have no children, and no longer be capable of sexual reproduction following a sex-change operation.