Japan proposes joint custody amid rise in divorce, reluctance from legal sector

Japan’s Civil Law grants full custody of children to one parent after divorce, normally to the guardian who has the child

One divorced father says current system has led some lawyers to encourage parents to effectively abduct a child, since they will most likely be given custody

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A panel set up by Japan’s Ministry of Justice has proposed the introduction of a joint custody system for the children of divorced couples, a move that would bring Japan more into line with other nations’ child custody policies as the number of divorces rises.
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Published: 4:00pm, 30 Jun 2022

A panel set up by Japan’s Ministry of Justice has proposed the introduction of a joint custody system for children of divorced couples. The move would bring Japan – the only G7 state that does not legally guarantee joint custody to separated parents – more in line with other nations’ child custody policies as the number of divorces in the country rises.

An outline of the new system has been drawn up and a draft of the legal revisions to the current Civil Code is due to be completed before the end of August. The ministry has declined to comment on the proposals, but the intention is to find solutions to the worsening problems of children having access to both parents and the refusal of some parents to provide child support.

And while parents’ groups concede that an initial discussion of the issue is a step in the right direction, they have deep reservations about the ministry’s plans.

Yasuyuki Watanabe, a professor at Tokyo’s Tama University, claims there is no genuine appetite for change within the ministry as lawyers and judges earn large amounts of money under the present system.

“Members of the panel were hand-picked by the ministry because they oppose real change,” he told the Post. “It is made up of judges who have in the past ruled against parents seeking to see a child and lawyers, including one who has written a book about what he claims are the down-sides of joint custody.”