A commission of the Ministry of Justice proposes to modify the Civil Code to prevent a parent from being deprived of all responsibility after the end of the marriage. It is an issue that affects thousands of families, in a country where the latest figures reveal 193,000 separations a year.
Tokyo () – Japan could soon adopt a new joint custody law in case of separation of parents. A commission from the Tokyo Ministry of Justice proposes a series of viable options to modify the Japanese civil code, which currently does not contemplate the possibility of sharing parental authority after divorce.
Although married couples jointly exercise parental authority, custody law provides that only one of the two parents has the authority to care for the children, act as their legal representative, manage their property, and make all day-to-day health and care decisions. education. This system has been criticized because it would deprive one of the parents of the responsibility to participate in raising the children, but some organizations for the protection of divorced mothers oppose the review because it would risk perpetuating situations of domestic violence even after separation.
It is an issue that touches the lives of hundreds of thousands of families in Japan: the latest figures indicate that 193,000 couples divorced in 2020, about a third of those who married that same year.
In the last period, the country has witnessed a growing debate on the issue of parental custody, after news broke nationwide. Last year, shortly before the start of the Tokyo Olympics, a French citizen who was married to a Japanese woman went on hunger strike to protest against his ex-wife preventing her from seeing his children. The woman would have disappeared in 2018, taking the two children, accusing her ex-husband of domestic abuse and mistreatment. In July, a court ruling recognized the right of custody of the mother, who will be able to continue raising her children alone, but has denied the accusations of domestic violence. Therefore, the judge ruled that the father should be able to see the children.
The reform proposal presented by the ministry contemplates various options for introducing joint custody, so it is not clear how this would work in practice. The hypotheses are: make joint custody the norm, maintain the current legislation – sole custody – but allow joint custody as an exception, or establish a custody regime in which decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.
However, even in the case of joint custody, it is possible that one of the parents retains greater authority to make decisions in the lives of the children. Undoubtedly, the new law will improve the current situation regarding visitation rights and maintenance obligations. In the absence of existing legal prescriptions on this issue, the ministry’s proposal suggests making it mandatory for parents to discuss and agree on these issues at the time of divorce. The Ministry of Justice has asked the population to send their comments on the reform proposals before the end of December. The debate in Parliament is expected to take place early next year.
