Divorcing my partner in Japan & coming home (U.K.)

11 comments

1. >but there are so many laws that give me little to no rights being a foreigner in Japan.

   I mean, that was unfortunately also true before the divorce, so.

   >Anyone that can help me find my way through this mess would be very much appreciated.

   Ask them to sign the divorce papers. Take said papers to city hall. Submit papers. Wait around 10 minutes for processing.

   Congrats, you are now divorced.

   >I have 2 young kids and don’t want to leave them here
   >
   >But I can’t live in the situation I’m currently in any more.

   I sympathize with your current situation, but the law is most likely not on your side.

   The only thing you can do is cooperate with your partner and seek negotiation.

   EDIT: If you’re the mother, then talk to a lawyer and see what your options are.

   Unfortunately, as the other party is a Japanese citizen and therefore considered “stable”, I imagine that the they would still gain custody to “protect the interests of the child.” Unless there are extenuating circumstances, of course.

   ※This is not legal advice. Please seek actual legal council.

2. [removed]

3. That’s really rough. Sorry OP.

4. Are you the primary caregiver for your children in Japan? If so then you are likely to win custody in a divorce should it go to court. You may still not be able to take them out of the country but you should in theory at least be able to live a less stressful existence here.

5. I got great counseling after going to city hall and asking to speak to someone about DV. Also, my lawyer gave the first hour consultation free, and many places do. Talk to both, it really helps.

6. If your kids are Japanese citizens, even if you win custody, that’s no guarantee that you can leave the country with them.

   You also need to ask yourself what is in their best interests. They presumably have a life here, understand the language, have friends, classmates, and such. Living separately but still having access to the second parent is a far better option than essentially never seeing them again because they’re halfway around the planet.

7. Free lawyer consultation? I’m divorcing for the bargains, not the love!

8. Another one; no replies from OP and the account was created 1 day ago

9. Whats going on? 3rd post I see today about divorce

10. Thank you everyone for the help so far. It’s really helped. The information I had gleamed before coming here gave me no hope at all. Yes my account was made a day ago. I’m very nervous about my future right now and don’t want to fuck anything up with the chance of my partner finding out and making the first move. I haven’t spoken directly to a lawyer yet due to not wanting to be asked why I’m there by any third party that might see me or hear me or in anyway know that I’ve spoken to one.

    Again thank you everybody.

11. >but there are so many laws that give me little to no rights being a foreigner in Japan.

    I’m confused, you have the same rights as any person Japanese or foreign. Now your agreeing with them is another story. And fhe fact 99.999% of the time the people complaining about this aren’t actually complaining about this they’re complaining because they’re not receiving some special treatment aside.

    Please specify exactly which laws give you any different rights than a Japanese person with the possible exception of you being on a spouse visa.