Apr 19 (Japan Today) - The Diet on Wednesday enacted a revised law stipulating Japanese court jurisdiction over international divorces, in a move expected to speed up lengthy proceedings.
Before the revision, determination of court jurisdiction could take years as the previous law had no provision on the matter. The legislation will be promulgated in the near future and will enter into force within 18 months of promulgation.
The revised law on personal status litigation details under what circumstances an international couple or a Japanese couple with one or both spouses living outside Japan can file for divorce with a Japanese court, taking into account evidence and relevant parties' links to Japan.
The amended law provides that a lawsuit can be filed with a Japanese court if the defendant's address is in Japan, if both husband and wife are Japanese nationals, or if a couple's last common residence and the plaintiff's current address is in Japan.
For instance, cases that can be handled by a Japanese court include a foreign national living outside Japan and seeking divorce with a Japanese spouse in Japan or a Japanese national living in Japan requesting divorce from a foreign national who moved abroad but had lived with the Japanese spouse in Japan right before their separation.
But a Japanese court may deny its jurisdiction under special circumstances such as a couple living separately for a long period of time with almost no evidence to establish their last common residence in Japan.
