FAQ Archives - Page 59 of 94 - Ohara & Furukawa

July 4, 2016

What is the notary system in Japan?

The notary system in Japan is an organization of state licensed notary agents who provide official certification for contracts and other legal matters. By having a notary certify the signing of a contract, the issue of the executing the contract cannot be litigated in court as the notary’s certification removes all doubt that the parties signed the agreement in question. In this way, the notary system reducing the number of contract disputes that end up in litigation.

July 1, 2016

How are child support payments calculated in Japan?

The basic premise behind child support payments in Japan is to give the child a standard of living enjoyed by the parent with the obligation to pay child support. These payments can either be determined by a government schedule or through a calculation. Because court-ordered child support payments are based on a formula and are fairly easy to predict, it usually allows divorcing parties to agree on the amount of child support payments relatively quickly.

June 29, 2016

What are the steps in the naturalization application process?

There are three steps to applying for naturalization in Japan: filling out the application, review by the local branch of the Ministry of Justice and final certification of the documents in Tokyo. Each of these stages can take months to complete so applicants should be forewarned that citizenship is not granted quickly in Japan.

June 27, 2016

What is a Choice of Law clause?

A choice of law clause, also called a “governing law clause” or “proper law clause,” is a clause used in contracts to identify the type of law that should be applied to interpret the contract. Since the laws of various countries can differ in how they interpret contracts, without a choice of law clause, a contract may be valid when interpreted under one country’s laws but may be found invalid under the laws of another country.