Cross-border divorce raises questions that do not come up between two Japanese spouses. This page sets out the ones we are asked most often.
Which country’s law applies?
Not automatically Japanese law, and not automatically yours.
Which country’s divorce law a Japanese court applies
- Do both spouses hold the same nationality?The law of that country applies.
- If not — do both spouses habitually reside in the same country?The law of that country applies.
- If neither — which country is the marriage most closely connected with?The law of that country applies.
One rule overrides all three. Where one spouse is a Japanese national who habitually resides in Japan, the court applies Japanese law. In practice that covers most divorces between a Japanese national and a foreign spouse living in Japan.
Article 27 of the Act on General Rules for Application of Laws, which applies Article 25 subject to the proviso above. Which country’s court may hear the case is a separate question from which country’s law that court applies.
Different questions can be governed by different laws. Child support is governed by a separate statute — the Act on the Law Applicable to the Obligation of Support — and the answer there may not be the same as for the divorce itself.
This matters in practice. Whether your spouse’s foreign pension is divisible, and whether you can claim compensation for their conduct, can turn on this analysis before anything else is discussed.
Read next: Is a Japanese divorce by agreement valid in your country? Japan lets you divorce by filing a form at a city office; whether your own country accepts that is a separate question, and worth settling before you file.
Can we choose joint parental authority?
Since 1 April 2026, yes — but with conditions that are often missed in summaries written for a general audience.
Where both parents agree, joint parental authority can be recorded on divorce.
Where they do not agree, the family court decides, and it is required to order sole parental authority in certain cases, including where there has been abuse or where joint decision-making would be harmful to the child.
For international couples there is a further practical layer. Joint parental authority means certain decisions about the child require both parents. Where one parent lives abroad, that can mean delay on matters that do not wait — schooling, medical treatment, a passport.
We would rather you understood this before choosing it than afterwards.
Parents who divorced before 1 April 2026
A parent who holds sole parental authority under the previous law can apply to the family court to change it to joint authority. In practice this is realistic where the other parent does not object. Where the other parent objects, the hurdle is higher than for parents divorcing now, and we would not want to give you an expectation the court is unlikely to meet.
Read next: Joint custody in Japan — what the 2026 law says for foreign parents. What joint authority obliges you to do day to day, what the family court weighs, and what is still unsettled when one parent lives outside Japan.
What happens to child support if a parent leaves Japan?
This is the question we are asked most, and it has more than one answer.
Getting an order is generally the easier half. Japanese family courts can hear child support matters in a range of situations even where one parent is abroad.
Enforcing it is the harder half, and the answer depends on where the paying parent’s assets are.
| Situation | In outline |
|---|---|
| Parent abroad, assets or income in Japan | Enforcement in Japan is possible. Since 1 April 2026, a single application can cover both the investigation of assets and the seizure. |
| Parent abroad, no assets in Japan | A Japanese order must be recognised and enforced in the other country. Whether that is possible depends on that country — some have treaty arrangements with Japan, others do not. |
| Parent in Japan, stops paying | Enforcement against salary is available, and child support is treated more favourably than ordinary debts. |
Where enforcement abroad is in question, we will tell you what we can and cannot establish, and where local counsel in the other country is needed. We will not tell you a Japanese order will be enforceable somewhere we cannot confirm that it will.
The 2026 statutory child support and lien
Two changes from 1 April 2026 are worth understanding.
Statutory child support allows a parent to claim a defined minimum monthly amount where no amount was fixed at the time of divorce. This is aimed at the situation — common in practice — where a couple divorced quickly and agreed nothing.
A statutory lien now attaches to child support claims. This gives the claim priority over ordinary creditors and changes the documentary route to enforcement.
A lien does not remove the need to establish your claim. You will still be required to prove that the document you rely on is genuine. Enforcement is more direct than before; it is not automatic.
Child support set before 1 April 2026
The transitional provisions matter here and are frequently misstated online. Some of the new provisions apply only to divorces after the commencement date. We will tell you which of these are available to you before you rely on them.
Read next: Child support in Japan after divorce — what changed on 1 April 2026. Which of the three changes reaches back into an arrangement you already have, and what the courts require before they will act on it.
Residence status
Divorce can affect the residence status of a spouse who holds it through the marriage. The questions that arise — how long the current status remains valid, what alternatives exist, what having children in Japan changes — are ones we can discuss with you.
Read next: Divorce and your status of residence in Japan A divorce does not by itself cancel your status of residence, but it starts a 14-day notification duty and, separately, a six-month rule.
What we handle
- Divorce by agreement and drafting the agreement in Japanese and English
- Notarial deeds
- Family court mediation and adjudication
- Child support — setting the amount and collecting it
- Parental authority and visitation
- Division of marital property including foreign assets
- Enforcement against salary and assets in Japan