Issues | LAW OF THE LAND Jun 3, 2018
Left-behind dad's last resort: Impeach Japan's Supreme Court judges
by Colin P.A. Jones
Dogged father in Hague Convention case shines a light on a check-and-balance on the judiciary that barely functions.
NEWSWORTHY
Issues | LAW OF THE LAND Apr 1, 2018
Japan's Supreme Court orders a child be sent home in a Hague parental abduction case. Maybe.
by Colin P.A. Jones
Defanged habeas corpus grew some teeth in last month's Nagoya international custody ruling, but the problem of toothless enforcement remains.
How-tos | LIFELINES Jan 24, 2018
Can I sue in Japan to get back the money I spent on my former fiancee?
by Yumi Itakura
Does a reader who spent $20,000 on his fiancee have legal grounds to sue her now she has called the whole thing off? Well, that depends.
National / Crime & Legal Jan 10, 2018
by Magdalena Osumi
Yuko Miyazaki, newly appointed to the country's top court, says she will issue her legal judgments under her maiden name — Miyazaki — becoming Japan's first woman to abandon the court's long tradition of using one's legal name after marriage. Miyazaki, 66, who has more ...
National Jan 9, 2018
Cybozu chief Yoshihisa Aono leads suit against Japanese government for right to use premarital names
by Mizuho Aoki
The plaintiffs claim that the use of different rules for foreign nationals contravenes constitutional rights guaranteeing equality under the law.
Issues | LAW OF THE LAND Dec 31, 2017
Japan's Supreme Court hands down a road map for parental child abductions
by Colin P.A. Jones
The top court's latest ruling suggests judges will find ways to avoid messy Hague Convention returns that Japan lacks the means to enforce anyway.
National / Crime & Legal Jul 14, 2017
Mom prevails as top court upholds ruling in high-profile custody rights case
The Supreme Court has upheld a decision that granted a mother custody of her 9-year-old daughter, finalizing a high-profile dispute over custody rights. After the couple separated in May 2010, their relationship worsened. The woman then absconded with the daughter without her husband's consent, the ...
How-tos | LIFELINES Jun 14, 2017
Dividing assets: a thorny issue in divorce cases, whether international or domestic
by Norimasa Tabata
A reader wrote to Lifelines recently about the subject of dividing property upon divorce.
Voices | COMMUNITY CHEST Jun 9, 2017
In case you missed them: a year of responses to Community stories, part 2
The second in a series of selections of unpublished letters about Community stories from the previous year.
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT May 1, 2017
Three years after Japan signed Hague, parents who abduct still win
by Simon Scott
Despite winning return orders in court, foreign fathers are treated like offenders.
How-tos | LIFELINES Apr 26, 2017
Help for those seeking left-behind parents in Japan
by Louise George Kittaka
Two adult daughters contacted Lifelines hoping to get help with issues related to their fathers.
How-tos | LIFELINES Dec 18, 2016
Everything you hope you never have to know about divorce, separation and visa status in Japan
by Kosuke Oie
Lifelines addresses questions received about what is unfortunately a common concern among readers: divorce.