Surrogate baby born in India arrives in Japan

A baby girl born to an Indian surrogate mother under contract to a Japanese man arrived in Japan after the Japanese government issued her with a one-year visa on humanitarian grounds.

A baby girl born to an Indian surrogate mother under contract to a Japanese man arrived in Japan after the Japanese government issued her with a one-year visa on humanitarian grounds.

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The baby had been unable to leave India for three months because she holds neither Indian nor Japanese nationality.

The girl, who was born in late July, arrived at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture from India on Sunday, accompanied by the Japanese man's mother. The Japanese government issued the visa last week after the Indian government granted the baby a travel certificate in September in line with a decision by India's Supreme Court.

The Japanese man, who is in his 40s, has not clarified what happens next, people close to him said.

According to Japanese authorities, it is possible for the baby to become a naturalized Japanese citizen once a parent-child relationship has been established, either by the man recognizing his paternity or through his adopting her.

The baby was born after eggs from an unidentified non-Japanese woman were fertilized using the Japanese man's sperm and transferred to the womb of the Indian woman.