JAPAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Kenji Yano, Tokyo Kokusai Partners Law Office
• agreement between the adoptive parent and the adoptee is required (Article 802 (i)). However, if the adoptee is under 15, consent may instead be given by the legal representative (normally the birth parents) (Article 797); and • where the adoptee is a minor (under 18), the per - mission of the Family Court is, in principle, required (Article 798). Special Adoption A special adoption is one in which, from the date of the adoption, the legal relationship with the birth parents is terminated and a parent-child relationship equivalent to that of a birth/biological parent and child is established with the adoptive parents. Paren - tal authority vests exclusively in the adoptive parents (Civil Code, Articles 817-2 et seq). The main requirements are as follows. • It may be established only by a ruling of the Family Court (Article 817-2). • The adoptive parents must be a married couple and, in principle, adopt jointly (Article 817-3). • The adoptive parents must, in principle, be at least 25 years old (Article 817-4). • The adoptee must, in principle, be under 15 years old (Article 817-5). • The consent of the birth parents is, in principle, required (Article 817-6). • It is permitted only where the birth parents are unable or unsuitable to care for the child, and where special necessity exists for the welfare of the child (Article 817-7).
If a child is taken abroad without such consent, this may constitute a breach of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (the Hague Child Abduction Convention) and may also give rise to criminal liability (see 3. Child Abduction ). Where the Parents Are Divorced The current Civil Code provides that, after divorce, only one parent has parental authority (Article 819 (1), (2)). The parent with sole parental authority may, in principle, relocate the child abroad without the con - sent of the other parent. However, if the non-custodial parent has been des - ignated as the custodian of the child at the time of divorce (Article 766), relocation abroad without that person’s consent may be regarded as wrongful remov - al under the Hague Child Abduction Convention. 2026 Amended Civil Code Under the Amended Civil Code, at the time of divorce, the parents may choose between joint parental authority and sole parental authority; if they cannot agree, the Family Court will decide (Amended Civil Code, Article 819 (1), (2)). Where joint parental author - ity is chosen after divorce, relocating the child abroad requires the consent of both parents generally. 2.2 Relocation Without Full Consent In Japan, where parents share parental authority, there are no explicit provisions or procedures to directly resolve disputes between them regarding the exercise of parental authority, including disputes over reloca - tion. However, where the residential parent seeks to relo - cate with the child to a distant location, the proce - dures traditionally used have mainly been designation of the custodian (Civil Code, Article 766) or a change of the parent holding parental authority (Article 819 (6)). 2026 Amended Civil Code The amended Civil Code clarifies which matters of parental authority are to be exercised jointly or indi - vidually (Article 824-2). According to the legislative commentary, relocation – regardless of the distance involved – is considered a matter that requires joint
2. Relocation 2.1 Whose Consent Is Required for Relocation? Where the Parents Are Married
If the parents are married, they exercise parental authority jointly (Civil Code, Article 818 (3)) and both hold the right to determine the child’s residence (Arti - cle 822). Accordingly, as a rule, the consent of both parents is required.
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