Effective January 1, 2021, Jeff Jackson, the founder and managing partner of Jackson Sogo, was installed as Treasurer of the ACCJ Chubu Chapter and Co-Chair of the ACCJ Chubu Chapter’s Independent Business Committee. Through these positions, Jackson Sogo will continue to seek out ways to support the initiatives and goals of the ACCJ as well as the growing foreign community in Japan generally.
Jackson Sogo delivers presentation on changes to the Japanese Civil Code at the ACCJ
On December 9th, Jeff Jackson, the founder and managing partner of Jackson Sogo, delivered a presentation before the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) on recent changes to the Japanese Civil Code. The presentation is the first in a series covering changes to Japanese laws of interest to business owners and managers in Japan. The event was sponsored by the Independent Business Committee (IBC) of the Chubu chapter of the ACCJ and moderated by George Van Horn.
Caution re participation in political rallies and demonstrations
Foreigners in Japan considering participating in political rallies and demonstrations should understand that Japanese Immigration has the power to refuse an application for a visa (new, renewal or otherwise) from an applicant based on their participation in a political rally or demonstration alone and has done so in the past.
Dallas Native becomes only Westerner admitted to practice as a Gyoseishoshi Lawyer in Japan
Jackson Sogo (Japanese Gyoseishoshi Law Office) – Office Announcement
Jeffrey (“Jeff”) Jackson, the founder of Jackson Sogo, will be appearing in a panel discussion entitled “An Introduction to the Japanese Legal Landscape” at the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) in Tokyo on February 28th from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The panel will be discussing the roles of the various legal professionals in Japan as well as the specific matters generally handled by gyoseishoshi and should be of interest to companies and individuals alike who would like to better understand how they can use Japanese legal professionals to effectively address their legal needs.
Please see the below link for more information, and join us if you can.
https://www.accj.or.jp/accj-events/an-introduction-to-the-japanese-legal-landscape
Japanese Waiting Period for Remarriage
Many will be surprised to learn that Japan imposes a waiting period on women seeking to remarry. As a general rule, a woman must wait 100 days from the effective date of her divorce before remarrying. This waiting period is meant to make it easier to identify the father in the event a woman has a child soon after divorce, but there are a few exceptions.
A woman may remarry immediately:
– if she can prove, through a note by her doctor or otherwise, that she was not pregnant on the effective date of her divorce;
– after she gives birth to a child during the waiting period; or
– if she is remarrying her former spouse.
This waiting period can lead to visa problems for divorced women seeking to remarry in Japan close to their visa expiration date. Please contact us at Jackson Sogo to discuss how we can help you through this process.
* Jackson Sogo (www.jacksonsogo.com) is a Japanese gyoseishoshi law office offering a wide range of Japanese corporate, immigration, employment, labor, and family law services to clients in native English. This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Copyright Jackson Sogo. All rights reserved.
Protecting yourself from fraudulent or unconsented to divorce filings in Japan
Unlike most countries, divorce in Japan is easy for a married couple whose marriage is registered in Japan. If the divorce is not contested, the couple can simply fill out and sign a notice of divorce (rikon todoke), have two witnesses also sign the notice, and file the notice with their local city or ward office. No court proceedings are required, and the couple can even decide which spouse will get custody of any children in the notice.
Unfortunately, the ease of filing for divorce also means that the system can be easily abused. A notice of divorce can be filed by either spouse, making it easy for a disgruntled spouse to forge signatures and file a fraudulent notice without the other spouse’s knowledge. A disgruntled spouse may also file a notice of divorce that was previously signed by the other spouse after the other spouse changes his or her mind and no longer consents to the filing. Once a notice is filed, the divorce is considered final and the only recourse is to seek an invalidation of the divorce (kyougi rikon no mukou soshou) from the family court, a process that can involve significant time and expense.
For this reason, we recommend that clients who suspect that a notice of divorce may be filed by their spouse without their knowledge or consent preemptively file an application to prevent the filing of a notice of divorce (rikon tokode fujuri moushide). The application can be submitted to your local city or ward office and effectively prevents either spouse from filing a notice of divorce. The consent of your spouse is not required. Once the application is filed, the filing spouse must personally revoke the application for either spouse to file a notice of divorce.
This application is an iron-clad defense against fraudulent and unconsented to divorce filings in Japan, but there are a number of other recommendations we generally make to clients nearing a potential divorce. First, we recommend that you consult Jackson Sogo or another appropriate advisor to discuss your options and strategies for achieving the best result in your particular situation. Once a notice of divorce is filed, the divorce is final and you will lose any bargaining power you may have had before filing. Often times, it is best to condition the filing of a notice of divorce on the execution of a divorce agreement setting forth, among other things, how assets will be divided in the divorce. These agreements are typically much more difficult to secure after a notice of divorce has been filed, so we strongly recommend that you hold off on filing a notice of divorce until you have consulted with a specialist such as Jackson Sogo and arrived at a strategy for moving forward.
Second, we recommend that clients who ultimately decide to file a notice of divorce avoid signing the notice in advance and personally travel to their local city or ward office to sign and file the notice with their spouse. Many people make the mistake of signing a notice of divorce in advance only to find that the notice is then hijacked by their spouse and used to gain leverage in the marriage or as a bargaining chip to obtain better terms of divorce. This situation can be remedied with the filing of the application to prevent the filing of a notice of divorce discussed above, but it is better to avoid this situation entirely, whenever possible.
Please contact us at Jackson Sogo if you have any questions about divorce in Japan.
* Jackson Sogo (www.jacksonsogo.com) is a Japanese gyoseishoshi law office offering a wide range of Japanese corporate, immigration, employment, labor, and family law services to clients in native English. This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Copyright Jackson Sogo. All rights reserved.
Jackson Sogo (Japanese Gyoseishoshi Law Office) – Office Announcement
Jeffrey (“Jeff”) Jackson, the founder of Jackson Sogo, will be appearing in a panel discussion on “Starting a Business in Japan” to be held by the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) on November 7th beginning from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Nagoya Innovator’s Garage in Nagoya, Japan. The panel will be discussing various matters of interest to start-ups, including tips on structuring, getting work and family visas, start-up financing, securing appropriate office space, and more. Please see the below link for more information, and join us if you can.
Workforce Reductions in Japan
Jackson Sogo (Japanese Gyoseishoshi Law Office) – Client Alert
Workforce Reductions in Japan
The labor laws in Japan make it extremely difficult to terminate employees, and many laid-off employees are able to successfully argue wrongful termination. When they prevail on such a claim, they are entitled to backpay as well as reinstatement in their previous position. This can be costly for companies and engender mistrust among other employees, who fear they may be the target of future layoffs.
In almost all cases, it is better for a company to try to reach an amicable arrangement for separation rather than unilaterally fire an employee. If your company is considering a workforce reduction, please contact us for information about how we can help guide you through the process.
* Jackson Sogo (www.jacksonsogo.com) is a Japanese gyoseishoshi law office offering a wide range of Japanese corporate, immigration, employment, labor, and family law services to clients in native English. This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Copyright Jackson Sogo. All rights reserved.
Jackson Sogo (Japanese Gyoseishoshi Law Office) – Office Announcement
Jackson Sogo is pleased to announce that its founder, Jeffrey (“Jeff”) Jackson, was featured in the August 19th edition of the Japan Times, Japan’s oldest and largest daily English-language newspaper. An expanded version of the print article is available electronically at the following link.
