In January last year, a friendship agreement was concluded between Tokyo Bar Association and Taipei Bar Association. Our firm’s representative visited Taipei as a member of Tokyo Bar Association’s delegation for the conclusion of this agreement. Based on this agreement, a delegation from Taipei Bar Association visited Japan, and a comparative law seminar was held on this occasion. On 6 March 2026, we participated in this seminar held at Tokyo Bar Association, where we comparatively studied the family laws of both jurisdictions in light of current practices.
Japan is set to enforce the amended Civil Code on 1 April 2026, which will bring significant changes to family law. Under the pre-amended Japanese Civil Code, unlike many other countries, only one parent could hold sole parental authority (tandoku-shinken in Japanese) after divorce. However, the amended Civil Code will allow divorcing parents to opt for joint custody (kyodo-shinken in Japanese). Therefore, it was highly meaningful to learn about the legal system and practical experiences of Taiwan, which has already established a joint custody system. The Taiwanese lawyer’s lecture was highly informative, providing insights from Taiwan’s extensive precedents on joint custody, including the landmark Constitutional Court Judgment No. 8 of 2022 (111-Hsien-Pan-8).
Our firm’s representative has previously been consulted about the custody of a young daughter in a divorce case between a French man and a Japanese woman residing in Tokyo, and recognizes that non-Japanese individuals also have a strong interest in the developments of Japanese family law. The Japanese Ministry of Justice has prepared guidance on the new law in English and French. For your convenience, we have attached it here.
(10 March 2026)