Which Country’s Laws Will Be Applied?

Although Japanese courts have jurisdiction over divorce cases, there may be some question as to which country’s laws should be applied.

Under Articles 27 and 25 of the Act on General Rules for Application of Laws, the effect of a marriage will be governed by the law of the common nationality of the husband and wife. Where their nationalities differ, the law will be the law of their common habitual residence. If their habitual residences differ, then the law will be the law of the place most closely connected with them.  However, if one of them is a Japanese national who has a habitual residence in Japan, their divorce will be governed by Japanese law.

To give an example, suppose the wife is American and the husband is Japanese, and they have lived in Japan for several years.  

The applicable law for them will be Japanese law because the husband is Japanese and has habitual residence in Japan.

Therefore, if you are not Japanese, but have a Japanese spouse who has been living in Japan for a certain period of time, then Japanese law could be applied.

However, the applicable laws relating to parental authority, child support, and shared expenses (maintenance) differ from the law for divorce. Please ask the attorney during your consultation about the laws applicable to your case.