Divorce
Divorce in Australia
The Embassy does not hold a stock of Australian Divorce kits, and staff are not qualified to provide legal advice on Australian divorce proceedings.
The only role the Embassy has is to witness and certify certain documents in relation to divorce proceedings under Australian law.
For further information on Australian divorce proceedings and processes please go to the Family Court of Australia website.
Divorce in Japan
There are four types of Divorce proceedings in Japan:
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Divorce by agreement (kyogi rikon)
Which is a divorce based on agreement. -
Divorce by mediation in a family court (chotei rikon)
Which is completed by applying for mediation or the family court. This is usually where divorce by mutual agreement cannot be reached. -
Divorce by decision of the Family Court (shimpan rikon)
Where the divorce is completed by Family Court decision when divorce cannot be established by mediation. -
Divorce by judgement of a District Court (saiban rikon)
Where divorce cannot be established by the Family Court an application can be made to the District Court for a decision. Once the case is decided the court will issue a certified copy and certificate of settlement to be attached to the Divorce Registration.
The method of divorce will depend on a number of factors, including the nationalities of the persons seeking a divorce.
If both parties agree to the divorce and either the husband or wife is a Japanese national with a regular address in Japan, then Divorce by Agreement is possible.
The divorce is only officially recognised after a Divorce Registration is submitted to the Family Register Section of the local ward or municipal office. Such a divorce is normally recognised in Australia (see below).
If both the husband and wife are not Japanese citizens, and even where the marriage was originally registered in Japan, the parties will be required to have the divorce processed through the Family Court of Japan.
In most cases this could be initially done through Divorce by Mediation (method 2), but if agreement cannot be reached Divorce by Judgement of a District Court (method 4) will be required.
For further information on divorce proceedings please contact either your local ward or municipal office, the Family Court of Japan, or go to the Family Court of Australia website.
Family Court of Japan
Tel: 03-3502-8311
The Embassy maintains a list of lawyers, some of whom handle divorce proceedings in Japan.
Recognition of Overseas Divorces in Australia
The rules for recognition by Australia of overseas divorces is set out in section 104 of the Family Law Act 1975 (Australia).
Basically, it is necessary to show that the parties to divorce proceedings, or one of them, have a strong connection with an overseas country, and there is no reason of public policy why the overseas divorce should not be recognised. It does not matter where the marriage took place.
The divorce does not have to be effected by court order, an administrative act such as registration of an agreement (as in Japan) can be sufficient.
For definitive advice on recognition in Australia of Japanese divorce proceedings, please contact the Family Court of Australia.