Regarding joint custody

It is important for parents to continue to be involved in their child's upbringing in an appropriate manner after divorce and to fulfill their responsibilities in order to ensure the child's best interests.
The amended Civil Code and other related laws, enacted in May 2024, aims to ensure the best interests of children even after their parents divorce. It clarifies the responsibilities of parents raising children and revises rules regarding parental rights, child support, and parent-child contact.
*Effective April 1, 2020

The responsibilities of parents (Article 817-12 of the new Civil Code) clarify the obligation of parents to respect each other's personalities and cooperate with one another.
This law stipulates that parents have a responsibility to raise and support their children, and that regardless of parental rights or marital status, they should respect each other's dignity and cooperate for the child's best interests.
In order for children to maintain a standard of living comparable to that of their parents, parents must exercise their parental authority (caring for their children and managing their property) for the benefit of their children.
If you violate the obligation to respect the dignity of the child and cooperate with them, the nature of that violation may be considered in judgments regarding the designation or change of parental authority, or judgments regarding the loss or suspension of parental authority. The following actions may violate this rule:

● Violence, threats, verbal abuse, or other actions by one parent that negatively affect the other parent's physical or mental health, as well as defamation, frivolous lawsuits, etc.
● Unfair interference by the non-custodial parent in the daily care provided by the custodial parent.
● One parent moving a child to another location without the other parent's permission or for any particular reason.
● When an agreement has been made between the parents regarding parent-child interaction, but one parent refuses to carry it out without any particular reason.
(Fleeing from violence or abuse does not violate the rules.)

After divorce, parents can now choose between sole custody, where only one parent has parental rights, and joint custody, where both parents have parental rights.
Regarding how custody is determined, in addition to discussions between the parents, if an agreement cannot be reached through discussion, the court will decide which parent will have custody based on the child's best interests.
Even when joint custody is chosen, parents can make decisions regarding daily activities and care (childcare) individually. Furthermore, in urgent cases such as sudden illness requiring surgery, or escaping abuse or violence, parents can make decisions individually.

Child support refers to the expenses necessary for the care and education of a child. To protect the livelihood of children, a system of statutory child support was introduced to ensure that parents receive child support reliably.
This means that even if no agreement on child support is made at the time of divorce, the parent who lives with the child can claim child support from the other parent for a certain period from the date of divorce. This amount is determined by a Ministry of Justice ordinance, taking into account the standard expenses necessary for a child to live a minimum standard of living.
Furthermore, during negotiations regarding child support, courts can now order parents to disclose information about their income and assets. This has improved convenience by allowing for the disclosure of salary and other information, as well as the subsequent procedures for asset garnishment.

The rules have been revised to create a system that ensures safe interaction between parents and children, as well as with relatives other than parents.

(1) Trial implementation of parent-child interaction
A trial implementation is a mechanism that encourages the implementation of parent-child interaction on a trial basis during court proceedings. The court prioritizes the child's best interests and considers whether the implementation is appropriate and whether an investigation is necessary.
(2) Clarification of contact in cases of separation during marriage
With the revision of the Civil Code, if married parents are separated, the extent of contact between the child and the parent living separately is to be decided by agreement between the parents, in the child's best interest. If an agreement cannot be reached, the matter will be decided by a family court ruling or similar process.
(3) Clarification of interactions with relatives other than parents (grandparents, etc.)
If the court approves, such as when there is a close relationship like that of a parent and child, it can be stipulated that you be allowed to have contact with relatives such as grandparents.

The Agency for Child and Family Affairs has launched a portal site for single-parent families, introducing new rules under the revised law and support measures for single-parent families. For more details, including other reference materials, please refer to the link below.