incorporated association which facilitated A’s adoption through a special adoption process, the embassy “responded that the Chinese government would not receive the notification of the minor’s birth.”209 Chinese Nationality Law allows both the father and mother to pass on Chinese nationality. Article 5 states “Any person born abroad whose parents are both Chinese nationals or one of whose parents is a Chinese national shall have Chinese nationality. But a person whose parents are both Chinese nationals and have both settled abroad, or one of whose parents is a Chinese national and has settled abroad, and who has acquired foreign nationality at birth shall not have Chinese nationality.” In accordance with this text of the law, it can be understood that A has indeed acquired Chinese nationality, which is the nationality of B, A’s mother. However, the embassy (consulate section) clearly refused to receive A’s birth registration. This likely means that the embassy, which is the competent authority on nationality matters, applies the law in such a way that a child born out of wedlock is not to be considered a national by refusing to register his or her birth registration. A is thus considered to be stateless. A was put under the care of a Japanese couple soon after his or her birth, and the decision was made for A to be adopted by the couple through a special adoption process. Indeed, A’s nationality status was assessed as “stateless” by the relevant regional immigration bureau when an application for A’s residency permit in Japan was made after the decision for A to be adopted. Furthermore, the relevant family court, in considering whether the legal requirements for adoption were met in the context of the petition to confirm the adoption arrangement through the special adoption procedure, determined A to be stateless, and it decided that Japanese law, which is the law of A’s habitual residence, was the relevant law to A’s personal status.210 The family court concluded so by taking into consideration facts such as that A’s birth registration was denied by the embassy of China and that “the possession/non-possession of Chinese nationality of the minor (A) is a matter essentially to be determined by the Chinese authorities.” A, by being adopted by Japanese nationals, is eligible for facilitated naturalization as long as A meets the residency requirement of one year in Japan (Article 8 (ii) of the Nationality Act). 2. < Case 16 > A child born out of wedlock from a father and mother of Myanmar nationality who could not have his or her birth registered by the Myanmar embassy in Japan (1) Case summary 209 210 Sendai Family Court, Adjudication, 24 June 2016 (Heisei 28 Nen), supra note 30. Ibid. 104