Posthumous divorce is legal in Japan, for "divorce" from the family of the deceased

More than 4,000 Japanese citizens who have become widows or widowers, applied in 2023 for the Shigo Rikonalso called posthumous divorce. A practice that is completely legal in Japan.

It is a term that is not entirely accurate, because Japanese law does not allow get divorced of the husband or wife, if they have died. So, what is the purpose of the Shigo Rikon? To “divorce” yourself from your in-laws. Come on, the in-laws and company…

It may seem like a shocking act in our culture, but it has meaning within ancient Japanese traditions.

In Japan you can divorce your in-laws

Such as account Yahoo! Japanif your husband or wife dies, Japanese law allows you to file a “notice of termination of marriage bond” at the city hall, also called divorce posthumous. This document breaks the relationship with the family of the deceased.

The reason for doing this is that in certain situations, The widowed person has a moral obligation to care for and support his or her in-laws.if they cannot fend for themselves.

In Japanese tradition, this obligation falls on the eldest son, who in return has privileges such as inheriting the family’s money, house, and grave. But if the eldest son has died, the obligation does not fall on his wife, but on another relative.

However, There are cases in which the deceased He leaves it written in his will that it will be his wife or a certain relative who will take care of his parents.

So sometimes there are situations where a person who doesn’t get along with the in-laws, has a social obligation to care for and support his in-laws.

Japanese law allows for posthumous divorcewithout any kind of appeal, that is, the in-laws cannot do anything, since caring for the in-laws is not a legal obligation, only an ethical one. In addition, it is a one-way option: the family cannot request a posthumous divorce from the widower or widow.

This act does not affect possible inheritances, rights or possessions of the widowed person, since as I have explained, Marriage is not broken.

Japan has very peculiar customs, which date back thousands of years. Posthumous divorce is one of them. What a mess we would have in Spain if it were implemented here…

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Tags: Travel, Viral, Japan, Curiosities