After a divorce, child support that was agreed on may stop being paid. In that situation, repeatedly asking the other parent to pay is not the only option. Depending on how the child support arrangement was made, it may be possible to use the courts to garnish wages or seize money from a bank account.
The first thing to check is how the child support was decided.
If there is a family court mediation record, a court decision, a judgment, or a notarized agreement that allows compulsory enforcement, it can be used to apply for enforcement.
For child support, enforcement may cover not only payments that are already overdue but, under certain conditions, future payments as well. This can allow money to continue to be taken from wages as the payments become due.
If child support was decided through the family court, it may also be possible to use a procedure called a performance recommendation. The court asks the other parent to comply with the agreed payment. However, this procedure itself does not have the power to seize wages or other assets.
Then, from April 1, 2026, the system for collecting unpaid child support changed significantly.
If the parents have agreed on child support, payments that become due on or after April 1, 2026 are covered by a statutory priority right, up to 80,000 yen per month for each child.
This allows a certain portion of child support to receive priority when enforcing payment against the other parent’s assets.
Because of this change, even when there is no court order or notarized agreement, a written child support agreement between the parents may in some cases be used to seek enforcement.
The 80,000-yen figure is not a standard child support amount. It is the monthly upper limit for the portion covered by this priority right. Even if the parents made their child support agreement before April 1, 2026, the priority right applies only to payments that become due on or after that date.
Another new system applies when parents divorce on or after April 1, 2026 without first deciding the amount of child support.
In that situation, the parent who is mainly caring for the child can claim 20,000 yen per month for each child until a formal child support amount is decided.
This 20,000-yen amount is also not a general guideline for child support. It is a temporary amount designed to cover the period before a proper arrangement is made.
A practical problem can arise when the parent seeking payment does not know where the other parent works or what assets they have.
In some cases, court procedures can be used to obtain information about the other parent’s assets. For child support cases, Japan also has a one-stop enforcement procedure designed to make it easier to move from asset disclosure or employer information to wage garnishment.
Even with these systems, unpaid child support is not collected automatically. The procedure depends on what documents exist, whether the other parent’s workplace or assets are known, and how the original arrangement was made.
A verbal promise such as “I will pay this amount every month” can make enforcement much harder if payments later stop. It is important to decide the amount, payment date, how long payments will continue, and other details clearly, and to keep the agreement in writing.
If child support stops being paid, there is no need to assume that nothing can be done. The first step is to check what kind of agreement or court document exists and then choose the procedure that fits the situation.
References
- Ministry of Justice, “Divorce Portal”
- Ministry of Justice, “Revisions to Improve the Enforcement of Child Support”
- Ministry of Justice, “Overview of Ministry Ordinances Concerning Child Support”
- Courts in Japan, “Enforcement Based on Child Support Obligations”
- Courts in Japan, “One-Stop Enforcement Procedure for Child Support”
- Courts in Japan, “Family Case Q&A”
