All figures include Japanese consumption tax. US dollar figures are indicative, converted at ¥150 = US$1 and reviewed quarterly. The amount payable is the yen figure.
Consultation
| First 30 minutes | No charge |
| Thereafter | ¥44,000 per hour — approx. US$290 |
There is no condition attached to the free first 30 minutes. If your question turns out to be one we cannot help with, we will tell you that within those 30 minutes and there will be nothing to pay.
Divorce and related family matters
| Retainer | Success fee | |
|---|---|---|
| Divorce — negotiation | ¥660,000 approx. US$4,400 | ¥660,000 + 11% of the property division you receive |
| Divorce — mediation or litigation | ¥880,000 approx. US$5,870 | ¥660,000 + 11% of the property division you receive |
| Child support or marital expenses claimed together with the divorce | ¥220,000 approx. US$1,470 | ¥220,000 + 16.5% of three years’ child support |
| Child support or marital expenses only no divorce claim | ¥440,000 approx. US$2,930 | ¥220,000 + 16.5% of three years’ child support |
| Where parental authority or visitation is contested | + ¥220,000 approx. US$1,470 | — |
Custody, visitation, handover of a child and change of parental authority are covered by the divorce fee above where we act for you in the divorce itself. The additional retainer in the last row applies only where those points are contested.
Divorce by agreement — drafting support
If you and your spouse can agree the terms yourselves, we put them into a legally sound written agreement. Under this service we act for you only and do not negotiate with your spouse.
| Drafting the divorce agreement in Japanese with unlimited revisions for three months | ¥165,000 approx. US$1,100 |
| Extension of drafting support two further months | ¥66,000 approx. US$440 |
| English translation of the agreement optional | ¥110,000 approx. US$730 |
| Attending the notary office as your representative | ¥69,600 approx. US$460 |
| Consultations by Zoom during the engagement | ¥44,000 per hour approx. US$290 |
The notary’s own fee is separate. It is set by government regulation according to the amounts in the agreement, and we tell you the expected amount once the terms are settled.
We act for one spouse only. Your spouse may attend the notary office in person or appoint their own representative.
Two worked examples
The tables above set out each component. What people actually want to know is what the components add up to. Here are two, worked through.
These show how the arithmetic works. They are not an estimate for your case, and the amounts recovered in them are figures chosen to make the calculation legible — not a prediction of what you would receive.
Example 1 — divorce by negotiation, with child support
Your spouse agrees to divorce. Property division of ¥6,000,000 comes to you, and child support is agreed at ¥60,000 a month.
| On signing the engagement letter | ||
| Divorce — negotiation, retainer | ¥660,000 | |
| Child support claimed with the divorce, retainer | ¥220,000 | |
| ¥880,000 | approx. US$5,870 | |
| On conclusion | ||
| Divorce, success fee | ¥660,000 | |
| 11% of ¥6,000,000 property division | ¥660,000 | |
| Child support, success fee | ¥220,000 | |
| 16.5% of three years’ child support (¥60,000 × 36 = ¥2,160,000) | ¥356,400 | |
| ¥1,896,400 | approx. US$12,640 | |
| Total in fees | ¥2,776,400 | approx. US$18,510 |
Expenses — notary fees, postage of originals, translation — are on top of this and are listed below.
Example 2 — child support only, after the divorce is done
You are already divorced. Child support was never agreed, or was agreed and is not being paid. It is settled at ¥50,000 a month.
| On signing the engagement letter | ||
| Child support only, retainer | ¥440,000 | approx. US$2,930 |
| On conclusion | ||
| Child support, success fee | ¥220,000 | |
| 16.5% of three years’ child support (¥50,000 × 36 = ¥1,800,000) | ¥297,000 | |
| ¥517,000 | approx. US$3,450 | |
| Total in fees | ¥957,000 | approx. US$6,380 |
What moves these numbers
- The retainer is fixed at the outset and does not change with the result. It is the largest item you commit to before you know how the matter goes.
- The percentage components move with the amount. Halve the property division in Example 1 and the total falls by ¥330,000.
- Mediation or litigation raises the divorce retainer from ¥660,000 to ¥880,000. If negotiation is tried first and then mediation is filed, you pay the difference, not both.
- Where parental authority or visitation is contested, add ¥220,000 to the retainer.
We will put the figures for your own matter in writing before you sign anything.
Compensation claims brought on their own
Where you claim compensation (isharyo) separately from a divorce, the fee is calculated on the amount at stake.
| Amount at stake | Retainer | Success fee |
|---|---|---|
| Up to ¥3,000,000 | 8.8% | 17.6% |
| ¥3,000,000 – ¥30,000,000 | 5.5% + ¥99,000 | 11% + ¥198,000 |
| ¥30,000,000 – ¥300,000,000 | 3.3% + ¥759,000 | 6.6% + ¥1,518,000 |
| Over ¥300,000,000 | 2.2% + ¥4,059,000 | 4.4% + ¥8,118,000 |
- Minimum retainer: ¥660,000 for litigation, ¥440,000 for mediation. For most claims the minimum is what applies.
- The retainer and success fee for mediation and out-of-court settlement may be reduced to two thirds of the figures above.
- Where mediation or settlement talks are followed by litigation, the retainer for the litigation is the difference between what you have already paid and the figure above — you do not pay twice.
Work charged by the hour
Two questions in a cross-border case cannot be scoped in advance, because the answer depends on documents we have not seen yet.
| Which country’s law applies to your case | ¥44,000 per hour — approx. US$290 |
| Whether a Japanese order can be enforced where your spouse lives | ¥44,000 per hour — approx. US$290 |
We will give you a revised estimate before exceeding five hours. You will not receive an open-ended bill.
When each fee is due
| Consultation fee | At the end of the consultation |
| Retainer | On signing the engagement letter, before work begins |
| Hourly work | Monthly, in arrears |
| Success fee | On conclusion — when the divorce is registered, the agreement is signed, or the court’s decision becomes final |
| Drafting support and translation | On signing the engagement letter. The three months run from the date of payment |
| Extension of drafting support | At the start of the two-month extension |
| Attendance at the notary office | When the notary appointment is arranged |
The retainer is not refunded if the matter does not succeed. It pays for the work, not for the result. We would rather you knew that before you instruct us than afterwards.
When money moves
- First meetingConsultationThe first 30 minutes are at no charge, with no condition attached. If we cannot help, we say so within those 30 minutes and there is nothing to pay.
- On signingRetainerDue on signing the engagement letter, before work begins. It pays for the work, not for the result, and is not refunded if the matter does not succeed.
- Monthly, if anyHourly workOnly for the two questions that cannot be scoped in advance. You receive a revised estimate before five hours are exceeded.
- On conclusionSuccess feeWhen the divorce is registered, the agreement is signed, or the court’s decision becomes final.
Court fees, notary fees, translation, postage and travel are additional. We tell you the expected amount before each one is incurred.
What is not included
These are paid by you in addition to the fees above. We will tell you the expected amount before each one is incurred.
- Court filing fees and stamp duties
- Notary fees, where a notarial deed is drawn up
- Postage — including international post of original documents. A power of attorney for court proceedings must reach the court in original form
- Translation and certification of documents
- Travel expenses, where attendance outside Tokyo is required
How to pay
| Consultation fee | Credit card — VISA / Mastercard |
| Retainer, hourly work and success fee | Bank transfer · credit card (VISA / Mastercard) |
We invoice in Japanese yen. If you pay by card, your card issuer converts at its own rate. Bank transfer costs you least on the larger amounts, and we will send you the account details when the fee falls due.
Who will be handling your matter
Yusuke Sasaki — attorney (bengoshi) and gyoseishoshi.
LL.M., Durham University · Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, 2015–2020 · Head of Legal and Compliance, Paidy Inc., 2020–2025.
Three things follow from that, and they are what you are paying for.
You speak with the attorney, in English. Not through an interpreter. When you ask whether your spouse’s foreign pension forms part of the marital property, the answer requires reading the Japanese statute, the treatment of foreign assets, and your own account documents. An interpreter can convey that answer. They cannot reach it — and their fee is charged separately from the lawyer’s.
Documents, mediation and enforcement are handled in one office. This office is registered both as a law office and as a gyoseishoshi office — in Japanese practice, two separate professions with separate scopes. Your divorce agreement, your notarial deed, your family court mediation and, if it comes to it, enforcement against the other party’s salary do not change hands at the point the matter becomes difficult.
Cross-border questions are the work, not an exception to it. Which country’s law applies, what happens when a parent leaves Japan, whether a Japanese order can be enforced abroad — these are the questions this practice is built around.
How payment works
The first 30 minutes are at no charge, so there is nothing to pay before you know whether we can help.
| What | How it is paid | When |
|---|---|---|
| Initial consultation (30 min) | No charge | — |
| Consultation beyond 30 minutes, and hourly work | Credit card (Visa or Mastercard) | At the time |
| Retainer and later fees | Bank transfer | As set out above |
You do not have to send an international wire
We hold receiving accounts in US dollars, Japanese yen, pounds sterling and euro, so for most clients the payment leaves as a domestic transfer rather than an international one.
| Where you are paying from | What you send | What it costs you |
|---|---|---|
| United States | A domestic ACH transfer — routing number and account number, like any US payment | Nothing |
| United Kingdom | A domestic transfer — account number and sort code | Whatever your bank charges for a normal UK payment |
| Eurozone | A SEPA transfer to an IBAN | Whatever your bank charges for a normal SEPA payment |
| Elsewhere | International transfer | Your bank’s usual charge |
This matters more than it sounds. A conventional wire to a Japanese bank is typically charged twice — once by your own bank and again by the correspondent banks in between — and the amount deducted is not visible to you until it arrives short. Sending a retainer of several hundred thousand yen should not cost you a fee you cannot see in advance.
Transfer details are given on the invoice.
⚠️ We never send bank details by unprompted email, and we will never ask you to redirect a payment to a different account. If you receive a message that appears to do either, telephone us on +81 50-6871-7273 before acting on it.
Before you book: Before Your Consultation — the questions we ask you to answer beforehand, and why each one matters. If you are outside Japan, Instructing Us From Outside Japan sets out what can be done by email and what cannot.