Joint Child Custody Is Introduced
A bill for revisioning the Civil Code, which enable divorced parents to share joint child custody, passed the Diet. While the revision is aimed at urging divorced parents responsible for raising their child, it is still concerned that one of the parents may continue domestic violence by keeping family relationship. Family court will decide to apply single child custody in such a case. Thus, right decision of family courts will be essential for protecting a child with divorced parents. It was 1898 when the Civil Code under the Meiji government determined single child custody for father. Authority of father in a family was extremely strong in paternal society in the Meiji era. The Civil Code was revised after the World War II when the Constitution of Japan was established, and parents became to share joint child custody as long as they keep their marriage. However, once the parents divorced, the custody belongs to one of the parents. The revised law changes that system with a notion