New procedures for handling family affairs cases at family courts will go into effect in January 2013 when revisions of related laws take effect. Currently, priority is given to investigations and decisions by family courts done at their discretion. Thus there is a tendency that full consideration is not given to the rights and legal interests of the parties involved.

It is hoped that the new procedures will contribute to the settling of family affairs cases in as smooth and reasonable a manner as possible. This is important because such cases often involve family secrets and individual privacies, and are becoming increasingly complex these days.

According to the Supreme Court, the number of civil and criminal trials has been slightly declining across the nation. But the number of family affairs cases — a category that includes divorce — handled by family courts has been increasing. In 2011, such cases topped 810,000, accounting for about 20 percent of the total cases handled by the nation's courts.