Personal Status Litigation Act

• A personal status action can be brought in a Japanese court on any of the grounds Article 3-2 lists — among them that the person sued is domiciled in Japan (or, with no domicile or none known, resides there); that both parties to the relationship are Japanese nationals, or were at death; or that the person suing is domiciled in Japan and either the two parties last shared a domicile in Japan, or there are special circumstances in which a trial in Japan would serve fairness between the parties or a proper and speedy trial, such as the other party being missing or a final judgment on the same relationship from the country where the other party is domiciled having no effect in Japan. Where a Japanese court has jurisdiction over a divorce or marriage-rescission suit, it also has jurisdiction over the decisions on child custody, on which parent exercises parental authority over a matter and on who holds parental authority that go with it, and over a division of property where a ground in the Domestic Relations Case Procedure Act (a separate Act) applies. Even where a Japanese court has jurisdiction, it may dismiss all or part of the action where special circumstances mean that hearing it in Japan would be unfair between the parties or stand in the way of a proper and speedy trial, taking into account, among other things, the burden on the defendant, where the evidence is, and the interests of the parties' children under the age of majority.(Art. 3-2(1), Art. 3-2(1)(i), Art. 3-2(1)(v), Art. 3-2(1)(vi), Art. 3-2(1)(vii), Art. 3-4(1), Art. 3-4(2), Art. 3-5(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• In personal status suits the court is not limited to what the parties argue: it may take into account facts no party has asserted and examine evidence of its own motion, and must then hear the parties' views on them. The Code of Civil Procedure's rules that a fact a party admits in court needs no proof, and that a fact a party does not dispute is treated as admitted, do not apply; nor may the court take the other side's assertions as true because a party failed to appear for questioning, refused to answer or disobeyed an order to produce a document. The court also cannot reject evidence or arguments as made too late, or end the case by judgment because a party stayed away from a hearing.(Art. 20(1), Art. 19(1), Code of Civil Procedure Art. 159(1), Code of Civil Procedure Art. 179(1), Code of Civil Procedure Art. 208(1), Code of Civil Procedure Art. 224(1), Code of Civil Procedure Art. 157(1), Code of Civil Procedure Art. 157-2(1), Code of Civil Procedure Art. 244(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Until oral argument closes at first instance or on appeal, the plaintiff may change the claim or its grounds and the defendant may bring a counterclaim, despite the Code of Civil Procedure's limits — though where a Japanese court would lack jurisdiction over the new claim, a changed claim or a counterclaim must concern the same family relationship, or the counterclaim must seek damages arising from the facts the personal status suit rests on, that suit being already pending before a Japanese court. A final judgment in a personal status suit binds third parties too, not only the parties. Once it is final, the plaintiff cannot bring a new personal status action about the same relationship on facts they could have raised by changing their claim in that suit, nor the defendant on facts they could have raised by a counterclaim — unless the judgment only dismissed the suit as not properly brought (不適法).(Art. 18(1), Art. 18(2), Art. 18(3), Art. 18(3)(i), Art. 18(3)(ii), Art. 24(1), Art. 25(1), Art. 25(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
• When a court grants a divorce or the rescission (取消し) of a marriage in a suit between the spouses, it must, if asked, decide in the same judgment the matters attached to it (附帯処分): who will have custody of a child and other child-custody matters; the division of property (財産の分与); which parent will exercise parental authority alone over a particular matter the divorce or rescission makes necessary, as Article 824-2(3) of the Civil Code provides; and the ratio for splitting the spouses' employees' pension records that Article 78-2(2) of the Employees' Pension Insurance Act provides for. In that judgment, and when in it the court designates who will hold parental authority (親権者) — both parents or one, under Article 819(2) of the Civil Code, which Article 749 applies to a rescission — the court may order a child to be handed over or money or other property to be paid. Where the marriage ends during the suit other than by judgment — by a settlement, say — and an attached matter already applied for was not settled when it ended, the court must still hear and decide it.(Art. 32(1), Art. 32(2), Art. 32(3), Art. 36(1), Civil Code Art. 824-2(3), Civil Code Art. 819(2), Civil Code Art. 749(1), Employees' Pension Insurance Act Art. 78-2(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
• The Code of Civil Procedure's rules that let a suit end by a recorded in-court settlement (和解), or by the plaintiff waiving or the defendant acknowledging (認諾) the claim, do not apply to what a personal status suit is about; in a suit for divorce or to dissolve an adoption (離縁) they do apply, to a settlement that brings about the divorce or dissolution and to waiver and acknowledgment, whose record has the effect of a final judgment — though acknowledgment must be made at a hearing, not by a written statement from a defendant who stays away, and in a divorce suit the defendant can acknowledge the claim only where no attached matter (附帯処分) or designation of who holds parental authority has to be decided. Such a settlement cannot be reached by a party accepting the court's proposed terms in writing, or by terms the court sets on the parties' joint request. A party who takes part in a settlement session or preparatory proceedings by audio link without attending cannot settle or acknowledge the claim there, unless the session was held by a link carrying both video and sound.(Art. 19(2), Art. 37(1), Art. 37(3), Art. 37(4), Art. 46(1), Code of Civil Procedure Art. 266(2), Code of Civil Procedure Art. 267(1)) (the provisions it rests on)

• 24 June 2026

  The text on this site

  Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act Partially Amending the Civil Code, etc.

  民法等の一部を改正する法律の施行に伴う関係法律の整備等に関する法律

  Act No. 46 of 2026The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 21 May 2026

  Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts to Promote the Use of Information and Communications Technology in Civil Procedures, etc.

  民事関係手続等における情報通信技術の活用等の推進を図るための関係法律の整備に関する法律

  Act No. 53 of 2023The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 21 May 2026

  Act Partially Amending the Code of Civil Procedure, etc.

  民事訴訟法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 48 of 2022The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 April 2026

  Act Partially Amending the Civil Code, etc.

  民法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 33 of 2024The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 October 2025

  Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts to Promote the Use of Information and Communications Technology in Civil Procedures, etc.

  民事関係手続等における情報通信技術の活用等の推進を図るための関係法律の整備に関する法律

  Act No. 53 of 2023The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 June 2025

  Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act Partially Amending the Penal Code, etc.

  刑法等の一部を改正する法律の施行に伴う関係法律の整理等に関する法律

  Act No. 68 of 2022The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 March 2025

  Act Partially Amending the Code of Civil Procedure, etc.

  民事訴訟法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 48 of 2022The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 24 May 2024

  Act Partially Amending the Civil Code, etc.

  民法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 33 of 2024The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 April 2024

  Act Partially Amending the Civil Code, etc.

  民法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 102 of 2022The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 14 June 2023

  Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts to Promote the Use of Information and Communications Technology in Civil Procedures, etc.

  民事関係手続等における情報通信技術の活用等の推進を図るための関係法律の整備に関する法律

  Act No. 53 of 2023The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

All 16 amendments already in force

• A person whose capacity to act is restricted (行為能力の制限を受けた者) — a minor, for instance — can take steps in a personal status suit themselves: the rules of the Civil Code and the Code of Civil Procedure that would require a legal representative or someone's consent, or let their acts be undone, do not apply. The presiding judge may appoint a lawyer to act for them, on their application or without one, and the fee they owe that lawyer is what the court finds reasonable.(Art. 13(1), Art. 13(2), Art. 13(3), Art. 13(4), Civil Code Art. 5(1), Code of Civil Procedure Art. 31(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Where the plaintiff dies during a suit, it ends, unless a provision says otherwise. Where the defendant dies during a suit for divorce, for rebutting the presumption of legitimacy (嫡出否認, unless the father is the defendant) or for dissolving an adoption, the suit ends rather than continuing against the public prosecutor.(Art. 27(1), Art. 27(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A final judgment dismissing a claim to rescind a marriage for breach of the Civil Code's ban on bigamy (Article 732) binds the spouse of the earlier marriage only if that spouse joined the suit.(Art. 24(2), Civil Code Art. 732(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A family court where mediation (調停) of the same case, applied for under the Domestic Relations Case Procedure Act (a separate Act), was pending may hear and decide all or part of the suit itself even where it lacks jurisdiction over it, if it finds this especially necessary in view of the course of the mediation, the parties' views and other circumstances. In a divorce or marriage-rescission suit where the spouses have a child under the age of majority, the court must take into account where the child lives when deciding this or whether to transfer the suit to another court.(Art. 6(1), Art. 7(1), Art. 31(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Where the person who would sue or be sued in a personal status action is an adult ward (成年被後見人), their adult guardian (成年後見人) may sue or be sued for them; where the guardian is the other side, the guardian's supervisor (成年後見監督人) may.This is the rule until the Act Partially Amending the Civil Code, etc. (民法等の一部を改正する法律, Act No. 45 of 2026) comes into force.(Art. 14(1), Art. 14(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
• From the day the Act Partially Amending the Civil Code, etc. (Act No. 45 of 2026) comes into force: where the person who would sue or be sued in a personal status action is someone for whom a family court has ordered a specified assistant (特定補助人を付する処分の審判を受けた者), that specified assistant (特定補助人) may sue or be sued for them; where the assistant is the other side, the assistant's supervisor (補助監督人) may. Adult wards (成年被後見人) and their guardians and supervisors whom that Act keeps under its earlier rules stay under the earlier rule of this Article.This is the rule from the day the Act Partially Amending the Civil Code, etc. (民法等の一部を改正する法律, Act No. 45 of 2026) comes into force.(Art. 14(1), Art. 14(2), Suppl. Prov. Art. 1(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 2(1)) (the provisions it rests on)

• The family court may, where it finds it necessary, have one or more court advisors (参与員) — designated for each case from people it selects every year in advance — sit in on hearings or attempts at settlement and give their opinion on the case. A current or former court advisor who, without good reason, reveals a person's secret learned in that work faces imprisonment (拘禁刑) of up to one year or a fine of up to 500,000 yen.(Art. 9(1), Art. 9(2), Art. 9(3), Art. 11(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• When the court will question a party in person, it may order them to appear on the hearing day. A party who fails to appear without good reason is treated as the Code of Civil Procedure treats a witness who does: an order to pay the costs caused and a non-penal fine (過料) of up to 100,000 yen, a criminal fine of up to 100,000 yen or penal detention (拘留), and being brought to court by force (勾引).(Art. 21(1), Art. 21(2), Code of Civil Procedure Art. 192(1), Code of Civil Procedure Art. 193(1), Code of Civil Procedure Art. 194(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Where a party or their legal representative, or a witness, is to be questioned about a serious secret of their own private life that bears on the status in question, the court may decide, with all its judges agreeing, to hold that questioning in private — if speaking about it in open court would clearly cause them serious trouble in their social life, so that they could not testify fully, and without that testimony the other evidence alone would not allow a proper judgment. The court must hear the parties and the witness first, and must announce the decision and its reasons before the public is asked to leave.(Art. 22(1), Art. 22(2), Art. 22(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
• The public prosecutor (検察官) is the defendant where everyone who should be sued has died, and the suit continues against the prosecutor where all the defendants die during it — except suits for divorce, for rebutting the presumption of legitimacy (unless the father is the defendant) or for dissolving an adoption, which then end. The court may have a prosecutor attend hearings and give an opinion; a prosecutor who attends may assert facts and offer evidence. Costs the prosecutor would have to bear are borne by the national treasury.(Art. 12(3), Art. 26(2), Art. 27(2), Art. 23(1), Art. 23(2), Art. 16(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• For decisions on the attached matters and on who holds parental authority, the court may investigate the facts (事実の調査) itself or through a family court investigator (家庭裁判所調査官), who reports the results in writing or orally, with an opinion if they wish; this investigation is not held in public, though the court may let people it thinks fit observe. Where custody or another child-custody matter other than sharing the costs of the child's care is sought, the court may urge the parents to try out contact with the child, if nothing in the child's state of mind and body makes it inappropriate and it is needed for the investigation — setting how, when and where, who attends, and conditions such as forbidding words or acts harmful to the child — and may ask them to report the result. Before deciding custody or any other child-custody matter, which parent exercises parental authority alone over a matter, or who holds parental authority, the court must hear the child if the child is 15 or older.(Art. 33(1), Art. 33(5), Art. 34(1), Art. 34(3), Art. 34(4), Art. 34-4(1), Art. 34-4(2), Art. 34-4(3), Art. 32(4)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Where sharing the costs of a child's care, or a division of property, is sought with the suit, the court may, where it finds it necessary, order a party — on application or of its own motion — to disclose their income and assets, or their property. A party who fails without good reason to disclose, or discloses false information, is given a non-penal fine (過料) of up to 100,000 yen by the court's decision.(Art. 34-3(1), Art. 34-3(2), Art. 34-3(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
• For a duty set by the court's decisions on the attached matters, or by its orders to hand over a child or pay, the family court can, at the request of the person entitled, look into how it is being performed and recommend that the person bound perform it (履行勧告), itself or through a family court investigator. Where a duty to pay money or give other property that the court ordered is neglected, it can, on application, where it thinks fit and after hearing the person bound, order performance within a reasonable time of what had been neglected up to then (履行命令); failing without good reason to comply brings a non-penal fine (過料) of up to 100,000 yen, which can be appealed at once (即時抗告). Both apply as well to such duties set in a settlement of a divorce or marriage-rescission suit.(Art. 38(1), Art. 38(3), Art. 38(4), Art. 39(1), Art. 39(2), Art. 39(3), Art. 39(4), Art. 39(5)) (the provisions it rests on)
• The part of the case record from the court's investigation of facts (事実調査部分) can be inspected or copied only with the court's permission. The court must give a party permission, except that for parts whose disclosure could harm the interests of the parties' child under the age of majority, disturb the private life or work of a party or someone else, or reveal a serious secret of their private life so as to seriously hinder their social life or seriously harm their reputation, it gives it only where it thinks fit; a third party who shows they have an interest (利害関係を疎明) may be given permission where the court thinks fit. A party refused permission can appeal at once (即時抗告); a third party cannot appeal.This is the rule until the change takes effect, 13 June 2028 at the latest.(Art. 35(1), Art. 35(2), Art. 35(3), Art. 35(4), Art. 35(7)) (the provisions it rests on)
• From a day a Cabinet Order sets, no later than 13 June 2028, the part of the case record from the court's investigation of facts (事実調査部分) can be inspected or copied only with the court's permission — except that a party may obtain from the court clerk, without permission, what they themselves submitted or filed electronically there, and the court's copies of it. For the rest the court must give a party permission, except that for parts whose disclosure could harm the interests of the parties' child under the age of majority, disturb the private life or work of a party or someone else, or reveal a serious secret of their private life so as to seriously hinder their social life or seriously harm their reputation, it gives it only where it thinks fit; a third party who shows they have an interest (利害関係を疎明) may be given permission where the court thinks fit. A party refused permission can appeal at once (即時抗告); a third party cannot appeal.This is the rule from a day still to be set, 13 June 2028 at the latest.(Art. 35(1), Art. 35(2), Art. 35(3), Art. 35(4), Art. 35(5), Art. 35(8), Suppl. Prov.(1)) (the provisions it rests on)