Joint Custody, Parental Right,
Child Custody

Among the custodian designations cases, a joint custody plan is prepared in cases where the foreign law, which has

the joint custody legislation, is the governing law.

We have a great deal of experience in such cases. Based on our experience, we recommend that a joint custody plan should be agreed upon under domestic cases as well, when it is possible for the parties to discuss joint custody.

We submitted a Public Comment, urging the implementation of the joint custody, on the "Interim Draft on the Review of the Family Law System” to the Family Law Subcommittee of the Legislative Council of the Ministry of Justice on February 17, 2023. Below is the abstract of the Public Comment.

・From the best interest of the child, it is necessary to implement a joint custody legal system, which can prevent a drastic change to the nurturing environment of the child and a blocking of the other parent from interacting with the child. Joint custody legal system is beneficial and useful for the best interest of the child, and that has been proved by the history of maintenance and the development of it in European countries and the United States.

・The current legal system which only allows a sole custody, connotes a risk of abduction of the child by the parent and it prevents addressing to diverse forms of custody, therefore it needs to be amended.

・In order to implement a joint custody legal system and make it function in reality, it is essential to take seriously the fact that joint custody legal system is a globally established value for respecting the rights of the child, and to clearly state as a basic policy that frequent interaction of the child with his/her parents after separation or divorce is in the best interest of the child (it will be a guideline for parents' behavior and the court's decision-making).

・Our firm has a rich experience handling international family cases in which foreign laws that has the joint custody legal system have been applied. We have accumulated a substantial number of cases in which joint custody is provided after separation or divorce in Japan, mainly in such international cases. In other words, joint custody legal system can be practiced in Japan.