Japan Could Soon Scrap 100-Day Remarriage Ban for Women 

15-02-2022 

Malina Wiethaus

Japan and Human Rights Researcher 

Global Human Rights Defence 

Currently, Japan’s Civil Code states that women are not allowed to remarry until 100 days after the divorce. The waiting period was shortened in 2016, from six months to 100 days. The prohibition of remarriage was introduced to avoid uncertainty regarding the identity of the biological father of a child born in the time after the divorce (Umeda and Sayuri, 2016).

On the 14th of February, a Japanese governmental panel proposed to abolish the current ban on remarriage for women. After a divorce, women should directly be able to remarry. In line with this recommendation, the panel aims at scrapping the current 1898 Civil Code which defines legal paternity. According to critics, the laws currently in place, are discriminatory and outdated. Therefore, the laws should be changed in fiscal 2022 (Kyodo, 2022). 

Furthermore, the 1898 Civil Code contradicts existing provisions. According to the Civil Code children born within 300 days after the divorce are presumed as the child of the divorced husband, while children born within “200 days of marriage will be presumed as the child of the current husband” (Kyodo, 2022). The abolishment of both the 1898 Civil Code and the 100 days ban of remarriage should hinder claims from overlapping and help protect children born within the days after a divorce.

The current legal paternity laws in place lead to mothers not submitting birth notification, as their former husband might be recognized as the legal father, rather than their new husband. According to the ministry, approximately 70 percent of 825 individuals living without family registry in Japan are not registered due to this reason. Therefore, the change in laws should increasingly protect children in these positions (Kyodo, 2022). Citizens who are unregistered face problems exercising their basic rights as Japanese citizens (Shuhei, 2018). 

Sources and further readings: 

Kyodo. (2022, February 15). Gov’t panel proposes to scrap 100-day remarriage ban for women. Japan Today. https://japantoday.com/category/national/japan-gov’t-panel-proposes-to-scrap-100-day-remarriage-ban-for-women

Sankei. (2015, December 16). 離婚後１００日過ぎていれば婚姻届受理 判決受け、法務省が全国に通知. 産経ニュース. https://www.sankei.com/article/20151216-TDMTPKKV5VPYZE7F47RXLHLRS4/

Suhei, N. (2018, February 22). Japan’s Archaic Civil Code and the Plight of the Unregistered. Nippon.Com. https://www.nippon.com/en/currents/d00385/

Umeda, & Sayuri. (2016, February 26). Japan: New Instructions Allow Women to Remarry 100 Days After Divorce. The Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2016-02-26/japan-new-instructions-allow-women-to-remarry-100-days-after-divorce/