The Justice Ministry plans to propose joint parental authority for divorced parents in Japan, which at present grants it only to one of the parents, paving the way for the nation to possibly move in line with international standards.
The ministry is expected to submit the proposal to the Legislative Council, an advisory panel to the justice minister, according to reports by the Mainichi Shimbun and Nikkei daily on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. The panel is slated to draft an interim proposal on revisions to the Civil Code in August.
Under the shared parental authority system, agreed upon by both parents or granted by a court, parents would be able to jointly make major decisions for their child, such as those related to health care and education, the Mainichi reported. The ministry will make the proposal as one of several options, which will also include maintaining the current system of sole parental authority, the two reports said, with all options being considered equally.