Before 1985, if the father was not Japanese, was their offspring born in Japan not given citizenship rights like voting, healthcare and pension. Could they deported even?
In Japan's nationality laws, citizenship is tied to one's historic ancestral region where they are registered, and to one's family genealogy tied to that area. Prior to 1985, citizenship was automatic if the father was Japanese (since any child of his would inherit his genealogy and his ties to his ancestral region). Furthermore, every individual had a genealogical record identifying who the father & mother was.
If the father was non-Japanese (and does not naturalize as a Japanese citizen, an option open to him by accepting the genealogy of his wife's family, in essence being adopted into the wife's family), then the family had two options - either register the child under the citizenship of the father, or register the child under the mother's family and leave any mention of the father out of the child's record.
The problem with the second option is that would essentially make the child illegitimate in the eyes of Japanese society, & Japanese society has had deep prejudices against such children, and would affect the child's future job prospects, among other things. Because of such problems, the law was changed in 1985.
Hope this answers your question.
