Japanese media have given prominent coverage to the nationality issue in the past two weeks. The Tokyo District Court ruled April 13 in favor of a lawsuit seeking confirmation of Japanese nationality for a boy born to a Filipino woman and a Japanese man who are not legally married. According to the ruling, the Nationality Law makes an "unreasonable distinction" between a child of legally married parents and a child of common-law parents. Such discrimination, the court concluded, constitutes a violation of the Constitution, which states that all people are equal under the law.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democratic Party is mired in a debate over whether to include a "nationality clause" in a government bill on human rights, which is likely to reach the Diet floor in the current regular session. Proponents of the clause argue that all members of local human-rights commissions, established in cities, towns and villages throughout the country, should have Japanese nationality.

People tend to view nationality through different prisms. This often complicates matters, as shown by recent developments. Although the Constitution guarantees various human rights, in practice they may be denied, justifiably or not, for reasons of nationality. The argument for the nationality clause reflects a combination of factors peculiar to Japan, including emotionally charged relations with North Korea and other Asian neighbors.