Dual Custody System for Divorced Couple Introduced

A divorced couple can share custody on their children under revised Civil Code enforced on April 1st. The government of Japan decided that it would not be enough for the children of divorced parents to be in custody of one of them. The parents will need to find the best way for their children through close discussions even after cancelling their marriage.

It has been usual that one of the parents would be responsible for raising their kids as a parent under the rule in Civil Code established in 1947. Now 180 thousand couple cancel their marriage every year. Father or mother who live together with the children under 18 years old would decide how to educate them or control their assets. But this single custody system sometimes caused the mother of father to take away the child, or some other criminal cases.

 

The revised Civil Code requires parents, regardless married or not, to take good care of their children, fundamentally based on the children’s interest. A divorced couple will choose single custody or dual one through their discussion. If they could not reach a conclusion, a family court decides which custody the child should belong to. The court may consider preference of the child or relationship between parents after divorce, and choose the best way from the perspective of happiness of the child.

 

A parent with single custody on his or her child can change the situation into dual custody, if family court recognize it as necessary for the child. A couple without legal marriage with a child can also choose dual custody through their discussion.

 

A child faces various urgent decisions in his or her life. They may include choice of food to eat everyday, sports to play after school, or medical doctor to consult with. If it is necessary for the parent with custody to make immediate decision for the child, it would be made without consultation with another parent. However, some important decision, such as moving house, choice of school to go or change of family name, will require mutual consent of the couple even if they were divorced.

 

In the case that one of the parents is concerned to commit domestic violence, the family court need to choose single custody to protect the ex-spouse and children. If a parent rejects payment for supporting children, another parent will be able to claim 20 thousand yen every month until they agree on amount of the payment.

 

In the old rule of pre-war era, a divorced mother needed to leave the family without any right to approach her children. Post-war Civil Code demanded a divorced couple to choose who would be responsible in raising their kids. However, with increase of international marriage, there appeared some cases in which one of the parents bring back his or her child from a foreign country. This revision of Civil Code can be a measure for Japan to apply to the international norms.

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