Comparing Japanese and American Approaches to Parental Rights: A Comment on, and Appreciation of, the Work of Takao Tanase

6 Pages Posted: 31 Aug 2006

See all articles by Ira Mark Ellman

Ira Mark Ellman

Center for the Study of Law and Society, Berkeley Law, University of California, Berkeley; Arizona State University College of Law; Arizona State University (ASU) - Department of Psychology

Date Written: August 2005

Abstract

This short essay, presented at a conference honoring the work of leading Japanese legal sociologist Takao Tanase, examines the portion of his recently translated work that compares Japanese and American law on child visitation after divorce. The comparison initially suggests that the stronger American view of parental rights better serves children's interests than the weaker Japanese view. Looking at the comparison through a different lens, however, also suggests that the real difference lies in the two cultures' diverging conception of social parenthood, and thus of the identify of the person who holds parental rights: the noncustodial American parent remains a legal parent at least in part because he or she remains a social parent, in aspiration if not reality, while the traditional Japanese view is the opposite. Finally, the essay suggests a causal connection, running in both directions, between the traditional Japanese rules on custody and the relatively low Japanese divorce rates.

Keywords: Divorce, custody, parental rights, Japan

Suggested Citation

Ellman, Ira Mark, Comparing Japanese and American Approaches to Parental Rights: A Comment on, and Appreciation of, the Work of Takao Tanase (August 2005). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=927746 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.927746

Ira Mark Ellman (Contact Author)

Center for the Study of Law and Society, Berkeley Law, University of California, Berkeley ( email )

Berkeley, CA 94720-2150
United States

HOME PAGE: http://csls.berkeley.edu/people/csls-affiliates

Arizona State University College of Law ( email )

Box 877906
Phoenix, AZ
United States

Arizona State University (ASU) - Department of Psychology ( email )

950 S. McAllister Ave
P. O. Box 871104
Tempe, AZ 85287-1104
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
211
Abstract Views
3,195
Rank
261,591
PlumX Metrics