{"id":1143,"date":"2025-05-12T07:21:04","date_gmt":"2025-05-11T22:21:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.japan-workers.com\/?p=1143"},"modified":"2025-05-12T07:22:40","modified_gmt":"2025-05-11T22:22:40","slug":"considerations-for-foreign-nationals-when-creating-a-will-in-japan-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.japan-workers.com\/?p=1143","title":{"rendered":"Considerations for Foreign Nationals When Creating a Will in Japan &#8211; 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Continued from &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.japan-workers.com\/?p=1140\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">Considerations for Foreign Nationals When Creating a Will in Japan &#8211; 1<\/a>&#8221; .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">References<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Act on General Rules for Application of Laws (Act No. 78 of 2006)\u2013 Especially Articles 36 (Law Governing Succession) and 37 (Choice of Applicable Law).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Japanese Civil Code (Act No. 89 of 1896)\u2013 Articles 960 to 1020 (covering wills, inheritance, and reserved portions).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ministry of Justice, Japan \u2013 Inheritance and Will Information\u2013&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.moj.go.jp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.moj.go.jp<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Japan National Notaries Association \u2013 On the Will System\u2013&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.koshonin.gr.jp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.koshonin.gr.jp<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cTheory and Practice of International Succession\u201d \u2013 Edited by Megumi Toriyama (Shin-Nihon H\u014dki Publishing)\u2013 A practical guide on international inheritance cases and applicable law.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cIntroduction to Private International Law\u201d \u2013 By Shinji Kondo (Yuhikaku Publishing)\u2013 Explains the theoretical foundations of choice-of-law principles for foreign nationals.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Case Examples<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Case 1: U.S. National (Mr. A) Owning Real Estate in Japan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mr. A, a U.S. citizen, had been living in Japan for over 20 years and owned both real estate and financial assets in Japan, as well as stocks in the United States. Recognizing the legal complexities, he explicitly chose Japanese law as the applicable law for his estate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Actions Taken:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Created a notarial will in Japanese.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Clearly specified the Japanese assets and their intended heirs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Created a separate will in the U.S. to cover his American assets, ensuring there were no legal contradictions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Outcome:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The succession process in Japan proceeded smoothly, and U.S. authorities recognized the U.S.-based will, avoiding legal disputes in both countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Case 2: Chinese National (Mr. B) Created an Invalid Will in Japan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mr. B, a Chinese citizen living in Japan, wrote a holographic will but forgot to include the date\u2014a mandatory requirement under Japanese law. After his death, his family found the document, but the court ruled it invalid due to formal defects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Problem:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The will did not meet Japanese requirements (entirely handwritten, dated, signed, and sealed).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Outcome:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Disagreements among heirs led to a lengthy dispute in family court. Had Mr. B used a notarial will, the situation could have been avoided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Case 3: U.K. National (Mr. C) Avoids Conflict Through Choice of Law<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mr. C, a British national residing in Japan, wanted to leave all his assets to his spouse, bypassing his children. Since U.K. law does not enforce forced heirship, he chose to apply U.K. law in his will rather than Japanese law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Actions Taken:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Stated U.K. law as the applicable law in his will.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Created a bilingual (English-Japanese) notarial will.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Consulted legal professionals in both countries to avoid inconsistencies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Outcome:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Japanese authorities respected the choice of U.K. law, and the estate was distributed according to his wishes without conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Japan Immigration News<\/h2>\n\n\n<ul class=\"is-grid columns-2 has-dates has-authors wp-block-rss\"><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https:\/\/thehub.ca\/2026\/07\/31\/immigrants-adopting-canadas-record-low-fertility-patterns-western-researchers-find\/'>Immigrants adopting Canada\u2019s record-low fertility patterns, Western researchers find<\/a><\/div><time datetime=\"2026-07-31T09:00:00+09:00\" class=\"wp-block-rss__item-publish-date\">2026-07-31<\/time> <span class=\"wp-block-rss__item-author\">by The Hub<\/span><\/li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/news\/2026\/07\/31\/japan\/japan-new-immigration-basic-plan\/'>Japan unveils new immigration plan focused on tighter regulations<\/a><\/div><time datetime=\"2026-07-31T09:00:00+09:00\" class=\"wp-block-rss__item-publish-date\">2026-07-31<\/time> <span class=\"wp-block-rss__item-author\">by Japan Times<\/span><\/li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https:\/\/mainichi.jp\/english\/articles\/20260729\/p2a\/00m\/0na\/016000c'>Shadows of hate, extremism hang over anti-immigration rally in Osaka<\/a><\/div><time datetime=\"2026-07-30T09:00:00+09:00\" class=\"wp-block-rss__item-publish-date\">2026-07-30<\/time> <span class=\"wp-block-rss__item-author\">by The Mainichi<\/span><\/li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/7\/30\/spanish-enclave-of-ceuta-raises-alarm-as-thousands-cross-morocco-border'>Spainish enclave Ceuta raises alarm as thousands cross border from Morocco<\/a><\/div><time datetime=\"2026-07-30T09:00:00+09:00\" class=\"wp-block-rss__item-publish-date\">2026-07-30<\/time> <span class=\"wp-block-rss__item-author\">by ALJAZEERA<\/span><\/li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/immigration\/5997071-stateless-protection-act-immigration-gap\/'>You can\u2019t go back to a country that doesn\u2019t exist<\/a><\/div><time datetime=\"2026-07-30T09:00:00+09:00\" class=\"wp-block-rss__item-publish-date\">2026-07-30<\/time> <span class=\"wp-block-rss__item-author\">by THE HILL<\/span><\/li><\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Continued from &#8220;Considerations for Foreign Nationals When Creating a Will in Japan &#8211; 1&#8221; . References Case Examples Case 1: U.S. National (Mr. A) Owning Real Estate in Japan Mr. A, a U.S. citizen, had been living in Japan for over 20 years and owned both real estate and financial assets in Japan, as well &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.japan-workers.com\/?p=1143\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Considerations for Foreign Nationals When Creating a Will in Japan &#8211; 2&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":552,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inheritance-and-wills","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.japan-workers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.japan-workers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.japan-workers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.japan-workers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.japan-workers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1143"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.japan-workers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1143\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1147,"href":"https:\/\/www.japan-workers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1143\/revisions\/1147"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.japan-workers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.japan-workers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.japan-workers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.japan-workers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}