Divorce and Child Custody in Japan Ai Kuroda, Attorney-at-Law, Admitted in Japan and NY Kuboi & Partners, Law Office Osaka, Japan

Divorce in Japan Divorce by Agreement between Parties “kyogi-rikon” 協議離婚 87.3% of entire divorce Divorce by Court Mediation “chotei-rikon” 調停離婚 10% of entire divorce Divorce by Court Order “saiban-rikon”　裁判離婚 1.2% of entire divorce Divorce by Court Settlement “wakai-rikon”　和解離婚 1.5% of entire divorce

Reasons for Divorce in Japan In 2013, family courts finalized 66,824 cases (mediation and litigation). 48,479 of them were petitioned by wives, in which 24.6 % of cases alleged physical violence as a single reason or one of reasons for the petition.

Divorce by Agreement Sample of Divorce Paper Available at the Website of Suzuka City　http://www.city.suzuka.lg.jp/life/benri/2403_1.html

Divorce by Agreement Easy and Quick Completed as an application is submitted to a local municipality Any reason / without reason Lack of review by a third party No court procedure / registration is required Only signature plus stamp by parties and two witnesses are required Simple One mandatory determination is which party will hold parental authority over child(ren). 　 Parenting schedule or child support is not required to be determined. Other issues may be discussed and agreed on by separate agreement.

Divorce by Mediation Family courts administer the mediation. It has 70-year history. Mediation is prerequisite to file a divorce petition. Mediation is conducted by a panel of three mediators in the mediation room at Family Court. One judge and two lay mediators (Male and Female) consist a panel, but a judge rarely participates in the mediation session. Most sessions are done by caucuses.

Divorce by Mediation Issues frequently discussed during mediation Which party will be a holder of parental authority over minor child(ren) Child support Visitation Division of estate Compensation Results 53% of cases reach some kind of agreement

Divorce by Court Order Legitimate Reasons for divorce by court order spelled out in Art. 770 of Civil Law, but the last provision “a material issue which makes the marriage irreconcilable” is used as “catch-all.” A divorce petition filed by a party who is responsible for the broken marriage would be denied when the couple have a minor child a and the divorce would make the other party’s life hard. When is a divorce litigation filed? Parties can’t agree on divorce or one of other issues, such as parental authority, visitation, separation of estate, etc. Personal Jurisdiction of Japanese courts No personal jurisdiction over a party residing outside of Japan Exceptions: the respondent has abandoned the family or the respondent’s whereabouts is unknown. New legislation on international jurisdiction over family matters is discussed.

Child Custody in Japan Among divorce cases involving minor child(ren), which party will be a single parental authority holder? 84% of cases … a mother 13% of cases … a father in 2012 Available at the website of Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare http://www1.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/rikon_8/repo5.html

Child Custody- Visitation Although custody rights is not legally established, Art. 766 of Civil Code provides that physical custody, a child support, visitation, etc. can be determined through discussion between parties. The frequency and the quality of visitation is limited in family law practice. The statistics on cases where parties agreed on visitation or a court renders an order on the visitation in 2009 shows that in 52% cases, a non-custodial parent is granted a visitation one or more times per month and in only 14% of cases, a non-custodial parent is granted an over-night visitation. Reasons why parents are reluctant to agree on have more non-custodial parent’s visitation: Child may be confused, become unstable, etc., Child may be placed in a middle of fights between parents, or Child may hear something bad about one parent from the other parent, etc.