A group of 12 parents is banding together to file a lawsuit against the Japanese government’s sole custody law.
In Japan, when couples divorce, judges can only grant sole custody to one parent under the country’s Civil Law.
The parents bringing suit state that this law infringes on their constitutional right of equality under the law.
The 12 parents are seeking damages from the government due to the burden put on them by not being able to be involved in their children’s lives after they divorced.
On top of damages, the group also wants to push for a joint custody system to be installed in Japan.
Under a joint custody system, both parents begin with equal custody rights over their children after a divorce.
A judge can then determine which parent should have more or less custody determined by numerous factors, such as financial status or past abuse.
In Thailand child custody cases, judges rule on which parent should have custody based off of the best interest of the child.
Even though the current system does allow judges to designate meeting times with children and non-custodial parents, the court order is largely unenforceable–meaning custodial parents can just ignore it.
Family attorneys state that the sole custody law in Japan creates extreme conflict between many divorced couples.
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