ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the legal issues concerning dissolution of marriage and discusses developments in the law and social trends in contemporary Japan based primarily on the latest statistical data. It focuses on matters arising after 1990 as the breakdown of the bubble economy and subprime mortgage crisis in 2008 brought about serious family problems. The Family Affairs Proceedings Act 2011 aims at providing easy access to the procedure for all parties, more respect for and protection of legal status of both parties and other interested persons involved in family disputes. In Japan, joint custody, joint parental obligations or joint parental rights and duties after divorce are not available but only sole parental rights and duties, as set out the Civil Code. The types of divorce obtainable are divorce by mutual consent, divorce by Chotei, divorce by family court determination and divorce by decree.
