My wife is Japanese and I am Canadian. WE got married more than 5
years ago in Canada. Recently my wife visited me in Canada from Japan
and we agreed to file a divorce. I signed the divorce paper in Canada
and the paper's in Japanese (no english.) She went back to Japan and I
cannot get a hold of her. I want to know if the divorce paper has been
files, processed and finalized. I want to confirm this with the
Japanese government but I don't which department. Because I
am in Canada, I want to contact the Japanese government online (not by
phone). May I ask if there's any website (in english as I don't know
the Japanese) I can go to to get details about my divorce status? 

Also if my wife already filed the divorce in Japan, do I have to file
a divorce in Canada?

Many thanks.

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Request for Question Clarification by denco-ga on 28 Nov 2006 22:48 PST

Howdy titan786909-ga,

Were there ever any marriage papers filed in Japan?

Were there ever any divorce papers filed in Canada?

Thanks! denco-ga - STBOOWGAR

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Request for Question Clarification by cynthia-ga on 29 Nov 2006 00:55 PST

Are you absolutely certain you signed divorce papers and not something sinister?

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Request for Question Clarification by hailstorm-ga on 29 Nov 2006 05:39 PST

Hi titan,

First of all, did you save a copy of the papers?  You can be sure that
it was Japanese divorce papers ("rikon todoke" in Japanese) if they
look like this:

http://www.moj.go.jp/ONLINE/FAMILYREGISTER/5-3-1.html

As of a few years ago, all registration information has been
computerized as part of the Juki-Net system.  What this means is that
you no longer have to go to the specific city in which your former
wife is registered to get this information;  it can be done from
anywhere in Japan.  Unfortunately for you, there are very strict
privacy laws in Japan, and there is absolutely no way you can get this
information via the internet.  Basically, either you or someone else
in Japan would have to go to a Japanese ward or city office.  You
would need to know your wife's Japanese name, and the city in which
she is registered to do this.  You would then pay a small fee to
receive her family register ("koseki tohon"), which would contain the
information on whether the divorce papers were filed.

One thing I can tell you about divorce in Japan is that, if there are
no children involved and consent is mutual, it is an extremely simple
process.  Once your wife submits the papers with proof of both your
consent, the divorce is complete in Japan.  However, although Japan
would consider you divorced, you were married in Canada, and generally
the place of marriage is the place of jurisdiction.  So you will
either need to complete divorce proceedings in Canada, or get some
legal council to determine how to proceed.

I believe that in your current state of affairs, since your wife is
Japanese and lives in Japan, she can consider herself divorced.  But
you, being a Canadian living in Canada, probably cannot.

You are in a complex situation for which there is no easy answer.  My
advice would be to contact a local divorce attorney for a more
thorough discussion on where to go from here.

Good luck!

do i understand correctly that you signed a paper that was written in
japanese, and you do not speak japanese?  was that wise?

have you tried to call the japanese embassy/consulate nearest you and
ask to be pointed in the right direction?  it wouldn't be an
international call.

while i am constantly amazed at the high quality of legal-related
answers you can get on goggle answers for the low prices offered, i
would think that this affects your life enough that you should
consider biting the bullet and talking to a lawyer.

-cab

Barneca is right on so many counts it is hard to tally them! Certainly
call the Japan embassy for a suggestion. At a minimum, they can help
find you an English-speaking attorney in Japan.