Q&A  - Marriage, Divorce and Domestic Violence -
Q1. I am married to a Japanese man. I'd like to have my child, who is now being brought up in the Philippines, come to Japan. How can I do this? (a Filipina, 32 years old)
A1. When you already have a spouse visa and you want to bring your child to Japan to live with you, you may be able to get a long-term status of residence for your child if he/she is underage. This will enable you to live together in Japan for the time being.

In addition, with your husband's consent, you will be able to file an application for him to adopt your child, which will be legally admitted when you register it with the city hall. If consent from a third party or permission by the competent court is needed according to the practice in the Philippines, you must take the necessary measures. Since you are from the Philippines, you need a decision to be issued by the competent court there, so you have to file an application for adoption with the court. But this is not always necessary. It can be substituted by a decision issued by the Japanese family court. This is because a decision by a family court is issued with a view to protecting the adopted child, taking into account the benefit to the child's welfare of the adoption. Basically it should not run counter to the system in the Philippines. So it will be convenient for you to make an application for international adoption with the family court in Japan.

It should be noted however that the child may be confronted by difficulties after coming to Japan. He/she will be completely protected legally just like a real child of your husband's, but the question is whether he/she can get used to the Japanese way of life. Can he/she adapt to life in school? If the child is already in her or his teens, going on to higher education or getting employed may be an immediate and serious problem.
Q2. I'm thinking of getting married to a Japanese. But I came into Japan on a passport with someone else's name and on a status of residence as a temporary visitor. Will the fact that I came in on someone else's passport be an obstacle to marrying a Japanese in my own name and getting a special residence permit? Is there any problem in the revised Immigration Law? (a 28 year old Filipina)
A2. There should be no problem caused by having used a false passport when you get married or when you apply for special residence permission.

When you fill out the paperwork for marriage, you should have your authenticated birth certificate, a certificate indicating that you are single from the Barangay, and then get a certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage from the Philippine Embassy. The Philippine Embassy does not renew or reissue passports to overstayers, so it's important to get from them instead a travel affidavit, in your own name. Then, you must get the Philippine Embassy to print you a certificate showing that you have fulfilled the conditions for eligibility for marriage (certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage). Before, this was given to couples with children (including children in the womb) but there had been a principle that overstayers were not issued with the certificate. For that, one had to get a certificate showing one was unmarried, issued by the National Statistics Office, or a statement/declaration (issued by the local government office in one's own country) sent over from one's country and one asked the Japanese authorities to accept it instead of a certificate of eligibility for marriage, but recently, even in the cases of couples with no children, as long as all the documents are there the Japanese authorities will issue a certificate of legal capability to contract marriage with no problems.

The revisions to the immigration law had some effect on the crime of overstaying one's visa. In Diet deliberations, foreigners who came into the country illegally more than three years ago and had built a family with a Japanese person, in the case that they applied for special residence permit (zairyu tokubetsu shikaku) there were repeatedly MPs pointing out problems, and questions, and the Minister for Justice and the head of the Immigration Department replied that "we will take appropriate measures after considering the makeup of the family and other facets of their situation."

[The procedure up until marriage and the application for special residence permission.]
1. Have the necessary documents sent over from the Philippines, and have the Philippine Embassy in Japan or the consulate issue you with a certificate of legal capability to contract marriage.
2. Go to your nearest city/town/village office and hand in an application to be married (kon'in todoke)
3. Apply at the Immigration Bureau for the special residence permission (zaitoku)

Note: there are often changes in the procedures at the Philippine Embassy, so please check yourself.

Contact:

the Philippine Embassy (Tokyo):
5-15-5 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo-to, tel. 03 5562 1600~02

Philppine Consulate (Osaka):
Abando City 101, 2-3-7 Uchiawaji cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka-fu, tel. 06 910 7881~83
Q3. I came into Japan on a false passport and met and got married to a Japanese under my false name. When I went home to my country, my relatives point out that my passport is under a different name. My daughter is about to go into elementary school, and I would like to go back to my original name for that, but what should I do? (a woman, 30 years old, from country C)
A3.  In a case like this you have to make an application at the family court to change your family register.

At the moment you are registered on your Japanese spouse's family register under your different name and date of birth, so you need to apply to have that changed.

Although I say family court, you need to have it changed in the area where you have your family register, so if your register is a long way away you might like to move your registry to your current address before you apply for the change.

For the documents for proof of identification, you need to have your birth certificate and your ID sent over from your own country. All you need to do, I presume, is to take those, and the passport from when you came into the country (under someone else's name?) and your new passport (if you have one. Some countries will issue you one easily if you just take your birth certificate.)

You can also use your graduation certificate or a character reference as documents backing up your application.

In a case I was involved in before, where a man from country A married a Japanese woman, the man's name and age on the passport was different (He got a passport with a made-up name and age and got into the country that way). He applied to the family court for changes to his family registry, taking his old passport and the new one, and his birth certificate and a declaration (a document signed by his father saying that this was his real son and that he lived in such and such place in Japan and his name was such and such). Without very much trouble he got the change with just one hearing at the court.

After the changes are made to your register, please do not forget to have the same changes made to your alien registration card and at the Immigration Bureau.
Q4. I married a Japanese man in the Philippines, but after he got back to Japan he married another Japanese woman. What will happen to our marriage?
A4.  When a Japanese person marries a foreigner under the law of the place they got married, or else under the formalities of his or her partner's country, he or she should register that marriage within 3 months with a certificate of that marriage issued by an official institution of the partner's country or an institution of the country where the wedding took place, at the Japanese Embassy of the place they got married or else at the local government office in Japan (Article 13 of the rules concerning the application of laws, and Article 14 of the Family Registry Law). Accordingly, when a Japanese man has married according to Philippine law, unless he registers that marriage it will not be written on his family register, and he can get married again.

Under Japanese civil law, when someone has committed polygamy (someone who already has a spouse marrying again) then that marriage can be annulled. (Articles 732 and 744 of the Civil Code)

In cases like the one you mention, assuming that the Japanese man has married another Filipina woman, then under Philippine law that marriage will be ineffective. ("Ineffective" and "annulled" are different, so please take care.)

In your case, the notice of marriage is an advisory notice, and even if the notice is not made, that doesn't affect the fact that the marriage took place in the Philippines by Philippine formalities, so you can try and have the marriage annulled. Specifically, apply for mediation to annul the marriage in the family court. If you cannot reach agreement, you can sue for annulment of the marriage under the law for civil court proceedings. If you are unable to take the proceeding yourself, please consult a lawyer.
Q5. I am a victim of domestic violence by my Japanese husband. I have left him, taking my children, but where can I go? Also, my visa is about to run out, but what happens with my visa when I've left home? My husband will probably not allow me to get a divorce, but what should I do? (Thai woman, 32)
A5. Local governments and offices provide clinics for women who are in trouble. Physical violence against women by their husbands and boyfriends is on the increase. Many of these clinics now provide shelter. You may use this kind of facility even when you have no money. Please consult with the welfare office of the area where you are registered.

If you want to make a consultation by telephone, we would advise you to use a pay-phone because the number may appear on your phone bill. There are many consultants who are familiar with women's issues and family issues. They will give you advice on what to do after leaving home, or on where you can live. We advise you not to tell anyone where you will be going, not even your friends.

We advise you not to sign your divorce registration form on your own, even if your husband agrees to divorce you. There are many things, such as child custody, that need to be checked before signing the paper. Please consult friends whom you can trust to confirm the documents. If there is a possibility that your husband tries to register the divorce on his own by forging your signature to acquire child custody, you may want to submit a divorce refusal request to the ward office to prevent his action.

If your husband refuses to divorce you, you will have to take the matter to a family court. While you are at the stage of mediation, there is no need to have a lawyer. But if you have problems with language, you should ask for a lawyer's help. There is a financial support system that will lend you money to cover expenses for hiring a lawyer. Please contact the Legal Aid Association (Horitsu Fujo Kyokai) for details.

　There is a possibility that your husband may approach you or follow you while you are still at the mediation stage. Ask the court to arrange the time and place of mediation in a way that your husband will not be able to reach you.

　Your length of status of residence can be extended during the mediation process, even if you live separately from your husband. In order to extend your visa, take your mediation registration card to the immigration bureau and explain your situation to the officer in change.

　We strongly advise you to tell the court and the Immigration Bureau not to reveal your address to your husband. It is also advisable that you should not change your alien registration address while the case is being dealt with in court. Your children can go to school in the area you move to without you changing your address. Simply consult the local education bureau. If you feel uneasy about going there by yourself, please ask the consultant at the women's clinic, or an NGO member to go with you (for example, Josei no ie HELP).
Q6. I am a Thai woman married to a Japanese man. Recently my husband has been trying to get me to give him a divorce. For family reasons, I decided to go temporarily to my country, but I'm worried that while I'm away he'll divorce me while I'm not aware of it. What should I do?
A6.  To avoid being divorced while you are not aware of it, you can submit an "application to have a divorce application refused". This is something you can submit to the local government where your husband has his family registry, requesting that they refuse any application by your husband to divorce you. You can prevent the acceptance of a divorce application for 6 months after you submit that.

Also, this "application to have a divorce application refused" can effectively prevent the acceptance of the application for divorce, even if you have agreed and have signed the application, as long as you apply before the application for divorce has been made.

The measure to have the application for divorce refused only lasts for 6 months, so if you are still worried after that, you can take out an application to have a divorce application refused" again. It is important before that to talk as much as possible with your spouse, and get rid of any reasons for getting a divorce.
Q7. My wife is a foreigner and we live in Japan together. How can we get a divorce in Japan? Even if in her country if we need a court hearing to divorce, is it still possible to get a divorce by consultation in Japan? When we cannot get a consultation divorce what should we do?
A7. You can get a divorce by consultation in Japan.

(Japanese law)
Your wife is a foreigner, but you are Japanese, so while you have a permanent address in Japan, you can get divorced under Japanese law (provision in article 16 of the rules for the application of laws). If you are registered as a resident at the local government office, you are recognized as having a permanent address in Japan.

(Procedures for divorce by consultation in Japan)
You can get a divorce by consultation if it is under Japanese law. According to established practice, foreign spouses are attached to their Japanese spouse's residence certificate, and so the claim for divorce by consultation can be made as someone who is registered as a resident. You can take your claim for divorce by consultation to the local government office at the area in which you are registered with your family register, or at the local government office where you have residency registration, or else at the local government office where you have your residence (your place of residence) (Article 24 of the Family Registry Law). However, when you take your claim to a local government office other than that where you have your family register, you will need a copy of your family register. Even if your wife comes from a country where you need to go to court to get a divorce, for you as a couple Japanese law is the governing law, so you can get a divorce by consultation in Japan.

(Filing for divorce in court)
If your wife fails to respond to a divorce by consultation, you can claim for divorce mediation in the family court. In which case, mediation for divorce or arbitration takes place in the family court. If according to this your divorce is recognized, then divorce based on mediation or arbitration will be completed. If even then your spouse does not respond, then you can sue for divorce in the district court.
Q8. I am a Filipina woman who has broken up with her Japanese husband. We have a one year old child between us. I want to leave the child with my parents in the Philippines, and work in Japan to support him/her. Is that all right?
A8. Your residence permit as a "spouse or child of Japanese National" becomes unable to be renewed after the death of or divorce from your husband. Till now it has not been easy to change one's status of residence to "long term residence", but on 30th July 1996 written instructions from the Ministry of Justice gave permission for a foreigner separated by his/her Japanese spouse by divorce or death and who is supporting a child, to change his/her visa status to "permanent resident".

However, permission to change one's residence status is conditional on whether or not you are supporting a child, so in your case where the child's living expenses are borne by your parents or in a child care center there, permission might be difficult.

If you wish to stay in Japan with your child, you need to have the will to bring him/her up by yourself.

If you have financial difficulties, it depends on your history, but it's important to confirm problems about support costs and relief. Also, in the case of your spouse's death, if your spouse was a regular contributor to a pension fund then you are able to receive inheritance pension.

In any case, if as in your question you want to stay in Japan but leave your child in the Philippines, and you have no other legal permission to stay in Japan (i.e. you have no special skill allowing you to stay) then it will be difficult in reality.
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