This November 2006 file photo shows Jikei Hospital in the city of Kumamoto. (Mainichi/Hitomi Tanimoto)

       KUMAMOTO -- In a possible first for Japan, a hospital in this city in the country's southwest announced Jan. 4 that it oversaw a "confidential birth" in December 2021 in which the child's young mother revealed her identity to the hospital only.

       According to Kumamoto-based Jikei Hospital, known for operating a "baby hatch" where parents who cannot raise their babies alone can leave them anonymously, a resident of western Japan aged under 20 gave her name, address and other personal information to the head of the hospital's consultation office only. She then left her baby at the hospital and was discharged.

       Confidential births have not been included in Japanese legislation, and the system is operated solely by the hospital. It could be the first case of its kind in Japan.

       (Japanese original by Yuki Kurisu, Kumamoto Bureau)

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