Thirty-three-year-old Satoko Nagamura has long wanted to have a child with her same-sex partner. However, it's extremely rare for same-sex couples to raise children in Japan, and for a long time Nagamura believed that it was basically impossible.
Nagamura's views shifted after she stumbled across a blog by a domestic gay writer in the mid-2000s that recounted the steps she went through to give birth after importing sperm from the United States. The blogger's story gave Nagamura a glimmer of hope.
In 2014, Nagamura started a relationship with a woman called Mamiko Moda. Moda was willing to support Nagamura's dream, and together they began searching for a sperm donor in Japan. It's no longer possible to import sperm from overseas, Nagamura explains, adding that no domestic medical institutions accept it.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.