Featuring interviews with Nambu FWC allies Kanagawa City Union, Zentoitsu Workers Union, activist Arudou Debito, and scenes from the March in March 2008 march through Shibuya, Tokyo:

A revised bill of the Nationality Law that allows children born to unmarried Japanese fathers and foreign mothers to acquire Japanese nationality with only the father’s acknowledgement of paternity was enacted on Friday after passing in the House of Councillors plenary session.

In article three of the current law, children of unmarried parents cannot obtain Japanese nationality. However, the Supreme Court ruled the article that requires the marriage of parents unconstitutional. The new law is slated to come into effect early next year.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20081205p2a00m0na015000c.html

The Diet on Friday passed a bill to revise the Nationality Law, which had been blasted as unconstitutional and discriminatory against children of mixed couples born out of wedlock.

However, the Diet talks did not go as smoothly as planned because of concerns over fake nationality claims and even some xenophobic messages from the public.

Citizens opposed to the bill had inundated high-ranking officials and lawmakers in both the ruling and opposition camps with faxes and e-mail messages.

One Lower House member’s office received enough faxes to create a 20-centimeter-high stack. Although most of the messages called for further revisions to stipulate DNA tests, at least one citizen, apparently concerned about the Japanese identity, said, “Japan will be overrun.”

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200812060058.html