“Stateless” in the “Nationality/area of origin” column. 87 C’s mother also consulted a different legal affairs bureau located in the Kanto region on her own regarding naturalization and C’s acquisition of nationality. However, the official in charge did not explain facilitated naturalization and gave a misleading explanation giving the impression that stateless persons could not be naturalized at all. Later, the legal representative of A, B, and C contacted each legal affairs bureau by phone to make an appointment for consultation regarding naturalization. However, the attorney was told that naturalization of the minors could not be processed and that for each legal affairs bureau, it was necessary for the lawyer to indicate the provision in Article 8(iv) of the Nationality Act and the stateless status of the concerned child under the law of Paraguay in order to make an appointment. In one legal affairs bureau, it took several days of internal confirmation before an appointment for consultation was accepted. 2. < Case 2 > A child whose mother is from Myanmar and father is unknown D, a Myanmar national who was studying in Japan, gave birth to E in Japan in 2015. D had had relations with more than one man at the time she became pregnant with E, and it was not clear who was E’s (biological) father was. According to Article 7 of the 1982 Citizenship Law of Myanmar, a child cannot acquire Myanmar nationality by birth unless both of the parents are Myanmar nationals. 88 E was not able to acquire Myanmar nationality because E did not meet the criteria of having parents who are both Myanmar nationals, with the father being unknown. In fact, after E’s birth when a staff member of the general incorporated association Across Japan, which assisted E’s special adoption, accompanied D on her visit to the Embassy of Myanmar in Japan and tried to register E’s birth, the officer in charge demonstrated discriminatory conduct for the woman having had a child out of wedlock, and the birth registration was denied. The Nationality Act of Japan adopts the principle of jus sanguinis, and because the nationality of the mother D is Myanmar, there was no room for E to acquire Japanese nationality by birth. Therefore, E was a stateless person who did not acquire the nationality of any State by birth and was not considered as a national by any State. The mother D was young and financially unstable and had no wish to raise a child. D consulted the general incorporated association Across Japan about adoption. Since the seventeenth day after birth, E has been raised by an American and Japanese married couple. When E applied for residential status at a local immigration bureau located in the Kanto region, E’s nationality was determined as “Stateless” and E was granted the status of short-term resident. Later, when their request for special adoption (Civil Code Article 87 The facts of Case 2 are based on a hearing from the parents and their counsel (28 August 2015). C applied for naturalization in August 2015 and was granted Japanese nationality in May 2017. 88 Burma Citizenship Law (15 October 1982). Reference was made to the following English translation: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b4f71b.html. 47