JAPAN Trends and Developments Contributed by: Kenji Yano, Tokyo Kokusai Partners Law Office
Major Reform of Japanese Family Law in 2026: Restructuring of the Legal Framework Concerning Children Background of the reform On 17 May 2024, the Act Partially Amending the Civ ‑ il Code and Related Laws (Act No 33 of 2024) was enacted and is scheduled to enter into force on 1 April 2026. The provisions of the Civil Code as amended by this Act are referred to below as the “2026 Amended Civil Code”. This reform represents the most significant transfor ‑ mation of Japanese family law since the post-war Civil Code came into force in 1948. It fundamentally restructures the legal framework governing children in Japan, both during marriage and after divorce. The reform does not merely introduce an optional joint parental authority regime: it redesigns the overall framework for decision-making concerning children, enforcement mechanisms and dispute resolution. This section outlines the key features of the reform and analyses its anticipated practical implications. Overview of the reform The principal elements of the 2026 Amended Civil Code are as follows. • Clarification of the fundamental responsibilities of parents, applicable irrespective of marital status or parental authority (respect for the child’s personal ‑ ity; duty of maintenance; mutual duty of parents to respect each other’s personality and to co-operate for the child’s benefit) (2026 Amended Civil Code, Article 817-12). • Reorganisation of provisions concerning parental authority and custody (introduction of optional joint parental authority after divorce; clarification of the methods of exercising parental authority; mecha ‑ nisms for resolving parental disagreements, etc). • Strengthening of mechanisms to secure payment of child support (statutory child support; introduc ‑ tion of a statutory lien; disclosure orders, etc). • Reform of rules and procedures concerning par ‑ ent–child contact (clarification of trial contact; intro ‑ duction of provisions concerning contact between children and relatives other than parents).
• Other amendments (including revisions relating to property division). Reorganisation of Provisions Concerning Parental Authority and Custody Content of parental authority and custody Structure Under Japanese law, comprehensive decision-making authority concerning a minor (under 18 years of age) is referred to as parental authority (Civil Code, Article 818 (1)). Parental authority consists of the following two principal elements. • Custody and education: (a) the rights and obligations to care for and edu ‑ cate the child (Article 820); (b) the right to determine the child’s residence (Article 822); and (c) the right to permit the child to engage in an oc ‑ cupation (Article 823). • Property management (Article 824): (a) the right to manage the child’s property; and (b) the authority to represent the child in property- related legal acts and to consent to such acts. Clarification of terminology concerning the exercise of parental authority Parental authority in Japanese law has long been understood as both a right and a duty. In all cases, it must be exercised in the best interests of the child. However, the former Civil Code provided that “the child is subject to parental authority”, which was criti ‑ cised as potentially suggesting that parental author ‑ ity constituted a form of parental control. The 2026 Amended Civil Code clarifies that parental authority must be exercised for the child’s benefit and adopts the formulation “exercise parental authority” (Article 818 (1)). Distinction between parental authority and custody (rights and duties of a designated custodian) Under the Civil Code, a custodian ( kangosha ) may be designated to exercise custody and education rights (Civil Code, Article 766). This remains unchanged under the 2026 Amended Civil Code. Under the former law, however, there was no explicit provision defining
165 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook