Divorce in Japan as a foreigner: agreed divorce, custody and your visa

If one spouse is a Japanese national living in Japan, divorce in Japan for foreigners follows Japanese law, and you can divorce by agreement (協議離婚) at the city office: a form signed by you both and 2 adult witnesses, filed for free. If you can’t agree, you apply for family court mediation (¥1,200), which in principle comes before any lawsuit. As of October 2026, parents can choose joint custody (since 1 April 2026), and spouse visa holders must notify immigration within 14 days.

Is divorce legal in Japan, and which law applies to you?

Yes. Japan has four ways to divorce, as the U.S. Embassy in Japan summarizes them: by agreement (協議離婚), by family court mediation (調停離婚), by family court decision (審判離婚) and by judgment in a divorce lawsuit (裁判離婚).

Which country’s law governs your divorce is set by the Act on General Rules for Application of Laws (法の適用に関する通則法, Article 27):

• One of you is Japanese and lives in Japan: Japanese law applies.
• Both of you are foreign: the law of your shared nationality applies; if there is none, the law of the place where you both habitually live; otherwise, the place most closely connected to you.

So two foreigners of the same nationality may be bound by their home country’s divorce law even while living in Japan. The U.S. Embassy says foreign citizens must show they can be divorced under their own country’s law and that the Japanese procedure is compatible with it.

How does an agreed divorce (協議離婚) work?

This is the ward-office divorce. Nothing goes to court. You agree on the divorce and, if you have children, on who holds parental responsibility.

The Ministry of Justice (法務省) says other attachments may be needed, so ask the city office first. A foreign spouse should ask what proof of nationality or identity the office wants.

Will your home country recognize a Japanese agreed divorce?

It varies by country, so check before you rely on it. An agreed divorce is a registration at the city office, not a court decision.

The U.S. Embassy in Japan says the United States has no procedure for out-of-court divorce, and that the legality of a ward-office divorce in various U.S. states is uncertain. Other countries have their own rules. Ask your embassy or consulate in Japan and a lawyer in your home country whether you need a court divorce instead, for example by mediation, so you can remarry or update records at home.

What if you can’t agree? Mediation (調停) and a lawsuit (裁判)

If you can’t agree, or can’t talk at all, you apply for divorce mediation (夫婦関係調整調停) at the family court (家庭裁判所). The courts say a divorce lawsuit in principle requires mediation first. Exceptions exist, for example when your spouse can’t be found.

If mediation fails, you can file a divorce lawsuit (離婚訴訟). After a court divorce, you file the divorce notification within 10 days of the decision becoming final, with the court papers. No ID is needed for that filing.

How do you stop a divorce filed without you? The non-acceptance request (不受理申出)

A signed divorce form can be filed by one spouse alone. To prevent that, file a non-acceptance request (不受理申出) at the city office. After that, the office can’t accept a divorce notification unless it confirms that you came to the counter yourself.

• Who: a foreign spouse can file it when the notification involves a Japanese national.
• Where: the city office of your registered domicile or your address. In principle you must go in person.
• Bring: photo ID such as a driver’s license or My Number card, and the request form from the counter.
• Cost and length: free, and valid until you withdraw it.

It doesn’t stop a court divorce. The U.S. Embassy notes that foreign parents use it when they fear a Japanese spouse could file a divorce naming themselves sole custodian.

How does joint custody (共同親権) work from April 2026?

A revised Civil Code came into force on 1 April 2026. Before that, only one parent could hold parental responsibility (親権) after divorce. Now both can.

• Agreed divorce: you decide together whether to share parental responsibility or give it to one parent.
• No agreement, or a court divorce: the family court decides in the child’s best interests. It hears both parents and tries to understand the child’s wishes.
• Sole custody is required where there is a risk of child abuse, where the risk of domestic violence makes joint responsibility impractical, or where joint responsibility would harm the child.

With joint responsibility, either parent can decide day-to-day matters alone, such as meals, short trips and regular vaccinations. Moving the child, major school decisions and significant medical treatment need both parents.

Either parent can act alone in urgent cases, including escaping domestic violence. The Ministry of Justice also notes that a passport application for a minor needs parental consent, which matters if you plan to take your child abroad.

If you divorced before April 2026 with sole custody, it does not switch automatically. A parent, the child or a relative can ask the family court to change it.

What about child support (養育費) and visitation (親子交流)?

The reform added two child-support tools:

• Statutory lien (先取特権): you can start seizure on unpaid support based on your own written agreement, without first going to court, up to ¥80,000 a month per child.
• Visitation: set by agreement or by the family court, with the child’s interests first. The court can now recommend trial visits during proceedings.
• Division of property (財産分与): you can now claim for up to 5 years after divorce, up from 2. Divorces on or before 31 March 2026 keep the 2-year limit.

The ¥20,000 is a temporary floor. The ministry says parents should set a proper amount based on both incomes, by agreement or through the family court.

What is the Hague Convention on child abduction?

Japan applies the Hague Convention on international child abduction, and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations dates its Hague referral service to the Convention’s start in Japan in April 2014. Japan’s Central Authority is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (外務省).

Under Japan’s implementing act, a family court must order a child returned to the country where they habitually lived if:

• the child is under 16 and is in Japan,
• the removal or keeping of the child breached the other parent’s custody rights under that country’s law, and
• that country was a Convention member at the time.

The court must refuse in set cases, for example when the application came over a year after the removal and the child has settled, or when return poses a grave risk of harm. In some of these cases it can still order return if that serves the child’s interests. Return cases go to the Tokyo or Osaka Family Court.

What happens to your visa after divorce?

If you hold Spouse or Child of Japanese National (日本人の配偶者等) or Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident (永住者の配偶者等) as a spouse, or Dependent (家族滞在) as a spouse, you must file a notification regarding your spouse (配偶者に関する届出) with the Immigration Services Agency (出入国在留管理庁, ISA) within 14 days. File online at any time, at an immigration office with your residence card (在留カード), or by post. No documents are needed.

For the two spouse statuses, the Immigration Act lets ISA cancel your status if you don’t live as a spouse for 6 months or more without a justifiable reason (Article 22-4). Before it does, ISA must consider letting you apply for a change of status or permanent residency (Article 22-5). Dependent status falls under a different item, with a 3-month rule.

One route to stay is a change of status, for example to Long-Term Resident (定住者), which is granted case by case, not automatically.

See Long-Term Resident after divorce and change of status. Start well before the 6 months pass, with the ISA information center (0570-013904) or a 行政書士.

Where can you get legal help in English or your language?

• 法テラス (Japan Legal Support Center): the Multilingual Information Service at 0570-078377 (050-3754-5430 from VoIP or prepaid phones), Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 17:00. It covers English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Nepali, Indonesian, Tagalog and more. It gives general information on the legal system and points you to the right service, such as a 法テラス office or a bar association.
• Civil legal aid: foreign nationals living in Japan lawfully can get free legal consultations and have lawyer’s fees paid in advance, which you repay, if income and assets are under 法テラス limits, about ¥182,000 a month for one person (¥200,200 in cities like Tokyo).
• Bar association consultations for foreigners: for example, the Shinjuku Legal Counseling Center run by Tokyo’s three bar associations offers English, Chinese, Korean, Bengali, Spanish, Vietnamese and other languages, at ¥5,500 per 30 minutes, by appointment (03-6205-9531). No status of residence is required.
• Hague cases: apply to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the bar federation’s free lawyer referral; legal fees are separate.

More guides: spouse visa, international marriage in Japan, your child’s Japanese nationality, child allowance for foreigners, permanent residency requirements.