Tag - family-law

 
 

FAMILY LAW

People holds a banner saying "Protect children from joint custody after divorce" during a rally outside the parliament building in Tokyo in March.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jun 25, 2024
Gender gap fuels disputes as Japan gets joint custody
The change has proved polarizing in a country where campaigners say sole custody acts as a bulwark against forms of domestic abuse.
Legislation that allows the option of joint custody of children after divorce is passed at the Upper House plenary session on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 17, 2024
Japan changes law to allow joint custody after divorce
For decades in Japan, one parent — almost always the mother — has been granted legal custody when a marriage ends.
Japan’s custody system may soon change with the introduction of joint custody, though issues like a lack of protection against domestic violence and abuse must also be tackled.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 10, 2024
Joint custody alone won’t fix Japan’s flawed system
Japan could be on the verge of adopting joint custody. While to some this is a step in the right direction, it may not be enough to protect families.
When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Apr 29, 2024
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree
Among official records in Japan, the "koseki" is key to discovering where you came from. However, it's not without controversy.
A bill on joint custody passes during a Lower House plenary session in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 16, 2024
Bill allowing joint custody after divorce clears Japan's Lower House
The move would bring Japan closer to adopting a practice seen in other countries.
Ai Fukuhara at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Friday
JAPAN / Society
Mar 15, 2024
Ai Fukuhara reaches custody settlement after abduction accusation
Although the physical custody of their son as well as their daughter will be with her ex-husband, the couple will continue to have joint custody over them.
A Cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday
JAPAN / Society
Mar 8, 2024
Government OKs bill to introduce joint custody after divorce
The bill would permit either sole custody or joint custody. A family court will intervene if there is a dispute.
Under a proposed joint custody system, if parents cannot reach an agreement, a family court would make a decision based on the interests of the child and family relations.
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2024
Government panel proposes allowing joint child custody
Based on the report from the Legislative Council, the government plans to submit a related bill during the ongoing ordinary session of parliament.
Japan is the only country with a law requiring married couples to adopt the same surname. In 95% of cases, it is women who take their husband's name.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 7, 2024
The land where single surnames are the only option
The business lobby recently joined calls for Japan to accept separate surnames after marriage. What, then, is standing in the way of change? Politics.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jul 17, 2022
Campaigners say U.K. 'forced adoption' scandal far from over
A parliamentary committee has said some 185,000 children were taken away for adoption between 1949 and 1976 in England and Wales, and urged an official apology.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2021
A hunger strike reignites conversations about parental rights in Japan
Detractors of the country's system of sole parental authority say it promotes child 'abductions,' while supporters say change could exacerbate domestic abuse.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 31, 2021
EU envoys back Frenchman on hunger strike over Japan child custody
Japan, unlike most countries, does not recognize joint custody and children often lose contact with the noncustodial parent.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2021
Children stateless in Japan due to gaps in knowledge about process, survey finds
With a surge in the number of foreign students and workers in Japan, the number of stateless children has been on the rise in recent years.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2021
Tokyo's Adachi Ward responds to controversy by certifying LGBT families
The initiative in the ward is rare in a nation that does not legally recognize marriage between members of the LGBT community.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Nov 22, 2020
Suga’s remark sparks hope for letting married couples use different surnames
When Suga was asked about his past call for creating the option, he said, 'As a politician, I bear a responsibility as I have said such things.'
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 17, 2020
In Japan, foreign parents lead charge against loss of child custody
A growing number of foreign nationals in Japan are speaking out against what they say is a little-known but entrenched system that allows one parent in a broken relationship to take away children and block the other from visiting them.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 15, 2020
Australian father gets suspended term for trespassing at in-law's Tokyo home
A Tokyo-based Australian journalist and father was given a suspended prison term of six months by the Tokyo District Court on Wednesday for illegally trespassing into a building complex where his in-laws live in Tokyo's Suginami Ward in October, in what the journalist said was an attempt to check on...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 4, 2019
Opposition parties submit bill to legalize same-sex marriage in Japan
Major opposition parties have submitted a bill that would permit same-sex marriage, a move that comes weeks after Taiwan became the first place in Asia to legalize gay marriage.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 20, 2019
Japan's Supreme Court rejects man's damages claim against ex-wife's partner over adultery
The Supreme Court Tuesday rejected a damages claim brought by a man in his 40s against his former spouse's then-lover, infidelity with whom led, he claimed, to he and his wife's divorce.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Jun 3, 2018
Left-behind dad's last resort: Impeach Japan's Supreme Court judges
Dogged father in Hague Convention case shines a light on a check-and-balance on the judiciary that barely functions.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals