CCPR/C/79/Add.102 page 3 11. The Committee is concerned about the vagueness of the concept of “reasonable discrimination”, which, in the absence of objective criteria, is incompatible with article 26 of the Covenant. The Committee finds that the arguments advanced by the State party in support of this concept are the same as had been advanced during the consideration of the third periodic report, and which the Committee found to be unacceptable. 12. The Committee continues to be concerned about discrimination against children born out of wedlock, particularly with regard to the issues of nationality, family registers and inheritance rights. It reaffirms its position that pursuant to article 26 of the Covenant, all children are entitled to equal protection, and recommends that the State party take the necessary measures to amend its legislation, including article 900, paragraph 4, of the Civil Code. 13. The Committee is concerned about instances of discrimination against members of the Japanese-Korean minority who are not Japanese citizens, including the non-recognition of Korean schools. The Committee draws the attention of the State party to General Comment No. 23 (1994) which stresses that protection under article 27 may not be restricted to citizens. 14. The Committee is concerned about the discrimination against members of the Ainu indigenous minority in regard to language and higher education, as well as about non-recognition of their land rights. 15. With regard to the Dowa problem, the Committee acknowledges the acceptance by the State party of the fact that discrimination persists vis-à-vis members of the Buraku minority with regard to education, income and the system of effective remedies. The Committee recommends that the State party take measures to put an end to such discrimination. 16. The Committee is concerned that there still remain in the domestic legal order of the State party discriminatory laws against women, such as the prohibition for women to remarry within six months following the date of the dissolution or annulment of their marriage and the different age of marriage for men and women. The Committee recalls that all legal provisions that discriminate against women are incompatible with articles 2, 3 and 26 of the Covenant and should be repealed. 17. The Committee reiterates the comment made in its concluding observations at the end of the consideration of Japan’s third periodic report that the Alien Registration Law, which makes it a penal offence for alien permanent residents not to carry certificates of registration at all times and imposes criminal sanctions, is incompatible with article 26 of the Covenant. It once again recommends that such discriminatory laws be abolished. 18. Article 26 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act provides that only those foreigners who leave the country with a permit to re-enter are allowed to return to Japan without losing their residents status and that the granting of such permits is entirely within the discretion of the Minister of Justice. Under this law, foreigners who are second- or third-generation permanent residents in Japan and whose life activities are based in Japan may be deprived of their right to leave and re-enter the country. The Committee is of the view that this provision is incompatible