by Jeremy D. Morley
jmorley@international-divorce.com
Substantial changes to Japanese family law concerning child custody and child support will take effect on April 1, 2026.
Child Custody Matters
The Japanese Civil Code has been revised to authorize joint parental custody of children after divorce, starting on April 1, 2026. Previously, divorcing parents were not able to agree to joint custody and courts were unable to order it. That will now change. But the impact of the new law may well be limited.
It is customary in Japan for children to reside with only one parent after a divorce and for the other parent to have very little visitation. Indeed, the enforcement of visitation orders in Japan is punishable by nothing more than a fine. Requests by a non-custodial parent for visitation to the extent that is customary in the United States are regarded in Japan as inappropriate, excessive and unfair to the child and they are generally denied unless both parents agree.
The new law focuses only on parental responsibility, meaning decision-making, rather than on a sharing of physical residency or an expansion of visitation rights.
The amended Civil Code provides that, if the parents cannot agree, the local Family Court may order sole or shared parental responsibility by considering all relevant circumstances, including the child’s relationship with each parent, and the relationship between the parents. Civil Code, Article 819(7). However, the court must award sole parental authority if joint parental authority would harm the child’s welfare, such as if a parent poses a physical or mental risk to the child, or if joint decision-making is impracticable due to violence or other harmful behavior by one parent toward the other.
The new provisions specify that, if both parents have parental responsibility, it shall normally be exercised jointly. However, if one parent is unable to exercise it, the other parent shall do so. Moreover, parental responsibility can be exercised solely by one parent insofar as that parent is performing day-to-day activities related to custody and education, or if there are urgent circumstances in the best interests of the child. Additionally, a Family Court may determine that only one parent may exercise parental responsibility for specific matters.
In an explanation of the new law, the Japanese Ministry of Justice has stated that activities that do not constitute day-to-day decisions, and which therefore need to be exercised jointly by both parents if they have joint custody, shall include relocation of children, educational decisions that affect a child’s future career, decisions about medical procedures that significantly affect the child mentally or physically, and decisions about the management of property (such as opening a savings account). However, the Family Court may appoint only one parent to make the decision about any specific contested issue if it deems that to be appropriate. (Article 824-2 (3)).
The new law, as explained by the Justice Ministry, allows parents to decide matters concerning the residential custody of their children, and allows the Family Court to make such decisions or to assign such decisions to only one parent. However, there are no new provisions for the effective enforcement of any such decisions.
Child Support
The new law also makes changes to the child support system in Japan. Enforcement of child support orders has been exceptionally weak in Japan. A new “statutory child support” amount will now take effect, which can be claimed provisionally even without a full agreement or a court order. However, the amount is set at only ¥20,000 (about $125) per child per month, which is exceptionally low.
Another reform authorizes the priority seizure of a non-paying parent’s assets (up to ¥80,000 per child per month) without the need for a separate court order.
The Family Courts
Historically, the legal system in Japan has not been significantly involved in handling and effectively resolving parental disputes concerning their children. The failure of the child support system, together with the fact that sole custody has been mandated until now, has meant that it is still typical in Japan that, when married parents separate, the mother usually keeps the children exclusively, the father pays a modest lump sum to settle all claims concerning asset division and child support, the parents sign a one-page administrative divorce agreement, and the father leaves the household and rarely has ongoing significant contact with the children.
The sole custody system, whereby one parent alone raises the children, at least had the benefit of providing certainty and a lack of interference by the legal system in private family life.
The changes that are now to be implemented will likely create greater uncertainty and a much larger role for the Family Courts. Those courts, whose limited resources are already stretched, will face a substantial challenge in handling their expended decision-making role in child custody issues.
Conclusion
The most significant consequences of the new law may be on shaping Japanese culture and society.
Since the law now expressly allows parents to make binding agreements on joint custody, Japanese parents may become increasingly accustomed to the viability and appropriateness of sharing the parenting of their children after they divorce. In addition, by providing additional measures to secure payment of child support, the new law may make it more likely that a non-custodial parent will pay ongoing support.