Japan's Cabinet OKs cutting remarriage waiting period for women to 100 days

The bill effectively removes the waiting period for most women by providing an exemption for those with a doctor's certificate showing they were not pregnant at the time of their divorce.
The move follows a ruling by Japan's top court in December last year that the six-month ban is unconstitutional.
Justice Minister Mitsuhide Iwaki told a press conference Tuesday he hopes the proposed amendment to the Civil Code will be passed during the current Diet session through June 1.
"As this is a matter affecting citizens' lives, it is necessary for us to quickly correct the state of unconstitutionality and avoid confusion," Iwaki said.
The current century-old ban is aimed at limiting uncertainty over the paternity of children conceived shortly before or after a divorce. Men may remarry immediately.
The Supreme Court ruled the length of the ban unconstitutional in December, calling it an "excessive restriction" on the freedom of marriage and recommending a 100-day waiting period in light of modern advances in determining paternity.
The Justice Ministry is in talks with the Japan Medical Association, the body representing the country's doctors, over a suitable format for a certificate to show a woman is not pregnant.
The Civil Code also states that a child born within 300 days after divorce will be assumed to have been fathered by the previous husband, while one born at least 200 days after the woman remarries her new husband will be considered his child.
The ministry has so far exempted women aged 67 or older from the ban due to their inability to conceive, and plans not to require those women to submit a doctor's certificate even after the Civil Code revision.