SHISO, Japan, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- A Japanese man who was born a woman and had his sex legally changed in 2008 said officials told him to register his son as an illegitimate child.

The 27-year-old Shiso man, who successfully applied for a sex change under a law passed to protect those with sexual identity disorder, said his wife gave birth to a son in November using donated semen from his brother.


However, he said officials told him when he attempted to register the child he would have to classify him as illegitimate.

The man, who married one month after legally changing his sex in March 2008, said he has sent a request to the city office for further consideration and is waiting to hear back.

"I am recognized by the country as a man but not as a father. I wonder why the special law (for people with sexual identity disorder) exists," he said.

Experts said babies born through artificial insemination, as the man's child was, are generally marked as legitimate due to officials not having access to particular details of the birth. However, the officials in this case had access to the records explaining the sex change.

"This man is lawfully married. It is discriminatory not to recognize him as the father," said Toshiyuki Oshima, head of the Japanese Society of Gender Identity Disorder.