Kōno v. Kōno
Japan Supreme Court
50 Minshū (No. 7) 1451 (1996)
- Written by David Bloom, JD
Facts
Kōno (the husband) (plaintiff), a Japanese national living in Germany, married a German resident (the wife) (defendant). The married couple had a daughter. After separating, the husband returned to Japan with the daughter. The wife filed a divorce action in Germany. The summons in the wife’s divorce action in Germany was served via public notice, a method of service that was not valid under Japanese law. The husband failed to appear in the wife’s divorce action in Germany. A default judgment was entered against the husband in the Germany divorce action, followed by a divorce decree that awarded parental authority to the wife. The husband commenced a parallel divorce action in Japan. The wife objected to the Japan divorce action on the grounds of lack of jurisdiction and argued that the Japan trial court should recognize and enforce the German judgment and divorce decree. The Japan trial court agreed with the wife and dismissed the husband’s divorce action. The husband appealed, and the intermediate appellate court reversed the trial court. The wife appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Negishi, J.)
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