What the certificate is
A Japanese divorce by agreement is completed on paper. The spouses sign a divorce notification (rikon todoke) and file it with the city or ward office where their family register is kept. The rikon todoke juri shōmeisho, or Certificate of Acceptance of Notification of Divorce, is that office's own certification that the divorce notification was accepted on a stated date. In Racho v. Tanaka (G.R. No. 199515, June 25, 2018), the Supreme Court noted the trial court's finding that under Japan's national law a divorce by agreement becomes effective by notification — which is why this certificate, and not any court judgment, is usually the closest thing to a divorce decree that exists.
Racho: the authenticated certificate carried the case
Rhodora Racho's petition was denied by the trial court because the consular Divorce Certificate she presented was not the divorce decree itself. On review, she submitted the authenticated Certificate of Acceptance of the Report of Divorce, and the Supreme Court accepted it:
The Certificate of Acceptance of the Report of Divorce was accompanied by an Authentication issued by Consul Bryan Dexter B. Lao of the Embassy of the Philippines in Tokyo, Japan, certifying that Kazutoyo Oyabe, Consular Service Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan was an official in and for Japan. The Authentication further certified that he was authorized to sign the Certificate of Acceptance of the Report of Divorce and that his signature in it was genuine. Applying Rule 132, Section 24, the Certificate of Acceptance of the Report of Divorce is admissible as evidence of the fact of divorce between petitioner and respondent.
No remand followed. Because the Japanese law had already been proven below, the Court itself declared her capacitated to remarry on the strength of that certificate.
Kikuchi: certificate plus embassy authentication suffices
In Republic v. Kikuchi (G.R. No. 243646, June 22, 2022), the spouses had filed their divorce before the City Hall of Sakado City, Saitama Prefecture. The Republic attacked the proof of divorce; the Supreme Court disagreed:
Similarly here, the divorce was coursed not through Japanese courts but through the Mayor of Sakado City, Saitama Prefecture. The Acceptance Certificate was what was issued to Jocelyn and Fumio when they filed their divorce before the mayor. Hence, it already suffices as proof of the fact of divorce.
The same decision is a warning, though. The fact of divorce was proven, but the case was still remanded because Japanese law was shown only through a library-stamped photocopy of the Civil Code of Japan. The certificate wins you half the case; the other half is the properly authenticated foreign law, part of the complete documents checklist.
Not the same document as its cousins
Three Japanese documents are routinely confused:
- Certificate of Acceptance of Notification of Divorce — issued by the Japanese city or ward office; certifies the acceptance itself. This is the document that sufficed in Racho and Kikuchi.
- Consular Divorce Certificate — issued by the Embassy of Japan on the basis of the city hall records. In Racho, the Court explained its limit:
This Certificate only certified that the divorce decree, or the Acceptance Certification of Notification of Divorce, exists. It is not the divorce decree itself.
- Certificate of All Matters — a certified extract of the family register (koseki) showing the recorded divorce. It corroborates the acceptance certificate; see the koseki page.
Best practice is overlap: file the acceptance certificate together with koseki records so the fact of divorce is established from more than one direction.
Preparing it for a Philippine court
In Racho, the certificate's seal was authenticated by Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then by the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo. Today, Japan issues apostilles through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and an apostille generally serves the same purpose. The document is in Japanese, so it must be filed with an English translation. See apostille requirements and translation of Japanese documents, or start from the complete Japan divorce recognition guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Certificate of Acceptance the same as a divorce decree?
There is no court decree in a Japanese divorce by agreement. The Supreme Court has treated a duly authenticated Certificate of Acceptance as admissible and sufficient evidence of the fact of divorce.
Who issues the Certificate of Acceptance?
The Japanese city or ward office where the divorce notification was filed. It certifies that the office accepted the notification on a specific date.
Does the certificate need to be authenticated?
Yes. In the decided cases it was authenticated through Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo. An apostille from Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs serves the same purpose today.
Will the certificate alone get my divorce recognized?
No. It proves the fact of divorce, but you must separately prove Japanese divorce law with a properly authenticated copy. Petitions that miss this second step have been remanded.