A subcommittee of a Japanese Justice Ministry panel compiled Tuesday a draft proposal that includes giving divorced parents joint custody of their children.

The family law subcommittee of the Legislative Council, which advises the justice minister, proposed the introduction of joint custody as an option in the interim draft. The panel is slated to seek public comments on the matter from next month and reflect them in its final proposal.

The current Civil Code gives both parents joint custody of their children when they are married, but sole custody to either parent after divorce.

The interim draft includes, for divorced parents, both plans to introduce joint custody and maintain the sole custody scheme.

The draft also offers options if joint child custody were to be introduced, including making it the default arrangement or allowing it as an exception under certain conditions, such as an agreement being reached between the parents.

Some have pointed out that the sole custody system tends to cause problems such as noncustodial parents failing to make child support payments and not being able to smoothly conduct visitations. Joint custody is the norm in many Western countries.

Meanwhile, others have called for keeping the sole custody scheme in place, citing fears that the joint custody system could result in domestic violence and abuse continuing even after divorce.

A proposal on the matter was originally slated to be drawn up at the end of August, but the work was postponed as members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s Judicial Affairs Division criticized the subcommittee’s ideas as being “difficult to understand.” 

The Justice Ministry side later re-explained its plans using an easy-to-understand diagram and gained approval from the party.

JIJI Press