(1) There is no special marriage law in Japan. Laws and regulations regulating marriage and family relations can be found in the "relatives" and "inheritance" of its civil law. Japan stipulates that marriage should be based on the wishes of the parties without parental consent. Male 18 years old or above, female 16 years old or above, can register for marriage. There is no legal obstacle to the marriage between Japanese citizens, and they can register or not. However, if it is not registered, its related rights and interests are not protected by law.
(two) the divorce must be over half a year before remarriage. Japanese citizens agree to divorce and also register. If both parties fail to reach an agreement, they need to go to court for adjudication. After six months of divorce, you can re-register for marriage. In Japan, divorce by agreement does not involve property, and property issues are stipulated by special laws.
(3) South Korea has only marriage laws and regulations. South Korea, like Japan, has no special marriage law, but has special marriage regulations. Marriages of Korean citizens must be registered as in Japan and China. South Korea stipulates that men and women who have reached the age of 20 can apply for marriage registration, but those who have reached the age of 16 can also apply for registration with the consent of both parents.
(4) Japanese and Korean cohabitation laws do not protect it. Both Japan and South Korea stipulate that the marriage between men and women can only be recognized by law after registration, and the legitimate rights and interests are protected by law. Unmarried or married people living with a third party are not protected by law, and married people living with a third party cannot register their accounts. However, if there are children after cohabitation, married people can adopt their illegitimate children. The above-mentioned two countries also do not interfere with the cohabitation between citizens administratively, and consider it to be a private law category and a personal civil act.
Second, the marriage registration management institution
(a) Japan's marriage registration is not limited to the domicile. There are 47 cities, counties, towns and villages in Japan. Marriage or divorce registration between Japanese citizens, Japanese citizens and foreign citizens can be registered in the municipal (town, village) government hall of their birthplace (origin), permanent residence (current residence) or workplace, and the registration work is handled by their household registration department.
(2) Marriage registration and household registration management belong to the same department. In Japan, marriage registration is the responsibility of the household registration department of the municipal government. Marriage registration and household registration at the same time. When the municipal government approves the marriage registration, it will register the change of household registration, that is, indicate the name and relevant information of their spouses in the household registration books of both parties. This kind of marriage household registration system in Japan makes the personal marital status of citizens recorded in the household registration book very detailed. It is precisely because of the management system of combining household registration and marriage management in Japan that the marital status of Japanese citizens is very clear and there will be no repeated marriage registration. So they are sure that there has been no bigamy in Japan in the past twenty years.
(3) Marriage or divorce between Korean citizens shall be registered in the government affairs hall of the municipality or district government where they live. There is no city-level registration in Korea (except municipalities directly under the central government), and marriage registration, like Japan, is combined with household registration and handled by civil servants (that is, civil servants).
(4) The marriage registration of Japanese and Korean citizens and foreign citizens is the same as that of domestic citizens, regardless of domestic or international (foreign-related), and shall be handled by the same registration authority.
Three, several special provisions of marriage registration
(1) When applying for marriage registration, one party may be present. When registering a marriage in Japan, both parties to the marriage need to fill in the application form for marriage (divorce) registration and provide the vines of their respective household registration, but it is not absolutely required that both parties must be present, and one party can submit the application form and vines of their own household registration. If both parties are unable to submit the application materials in person for some reason, a third person may submit them on their behalf. Because the acceptance authority in Japan will check with me. In addition, Japanese law also stipulates that if someone forges a notarial document or pretends to be the signature of the other party to register bigamy or divorce, the parties to the marriage may bring a lawsuit to the court, and the registered marriage or divorce is invalid. At the same time, according to the "crime of dishonesty" stipulated in Japanese criminal law, the fraudster was sentenced to 10 years in prison. So no one will forge each other's signatures on these matters.
(2) Marriage registration in Japan and South Korea is not handled on the spot. Japan's household registration courses that accept marriage registration must be reviewed by 1 week, especially after the other party's absent application is confirmed. After the registration takes effect, the registration authority (if it is at the domicile of the marriage parties) will transmit the relevant information of the marriage parties to the household registration management departments of the other two places (that is, the place of birth and the place of work) through the computer network.
In Korea, the processing time of marriage registration application is 4 days for both parties in the same jurisdiction, and 10 day for one party who is not in the jurisdiction, and one of them is a foreign citizen.
(3) In Japan, citizens do not charge registration fees for marriage or divorce registration, but only certification fees. Japanese law does not require a special marriage certificate for registration, so there is no marriage certificate and divorce certificate like China's. However, if the parties to a marriage need to leave a souvenir after registering for marriage, they may ask the registration authority to issue a certificate of acceptance of marriage, and the registration authority will also issue a certificate of acceptance of marriage, but they will charge a fee for accepting the certificate of marriage. There are two kinds of marriage acceptance cards. One is to print directly on A4 paper on a computer, and the cost is 350 yen. The other is a certificate of marriage acceptance written by a calligrapher, which is a little more expensive, 1400 yen. The acceptance certificate of marriage and divorce in Japan only proves that the registration authority accepted the marriage and divorce registration of the couple, but it can't prove the real marriage of the couple now. For example, a couple got married in the registry 20 years ago, but there will be great changes in these 20 years. They may have divorced a long time ago, and even some of the parties have been married and divorced many times, and now they have no spouse. The marriage acceptance certificate 20 years ago (such as China's marriage certificate) can't prove the current marital status at all. Therefore, in Japan, accepting a marriage certificate is only a commemoration and has no legal significance. After applying for approval of marriage registration, most people no longer go to the registration authority to receive this marriage acceptance certificate. If the parties need to prove the true marital status, they shall apply to the registration authority, which shall issue the household registration certificate according to the household registration records in the database. This is a real marriage certificate in Japan, because it is a record of real marital status. Japan has weakened the role of certificates and achieved very good results. In other words, no one in Japan will take any means to cheat or forge a certificate for a marriage certificate. It is not free to issue this certificate, but the cost is the same as that of the certificate, and the household registration office also charges 350 yen (A4 printing paper) when issuing this certificate. This is the main part of the government's provision of public services.
(4) There is no pre-marital medical examination procedure for Japanese and Korean citizens to get married. Japanese marriage registration officials don't quite understand why premarital medical examination is needed. In Japan, relevant knowledge is taught at the early stage of middle school, so that young people can master relevant knowledge in time and treat sex and marriage correctly. It is reported that the number of Japanese school-age youth living together has risen to about 66%. Because of economic independence and fear of unemployment after marriage, most women choose to live together but not get married. The average marriage age of Japanese women is getting older and older, rising from 20.3 years ago to 26.8 years now. Moreover, a considerable proportion of them don't give birth immediately after marriage or don't give birth, and they are afraid of the influence of childbirth to continue working. Japan and South Korea have never required premarital examination, nor have they linked marriage to childbirth. Therefore, the government did not require premarital examination when getting married. Married men and women do not require each other to have a premarital examination before agreeing to get married. In addition, it is reported that Japanese citizens pay more attention to personalized pre-pregnancy counseling, and couples usually consult relevant professional doctors before giving birth, which is a very important measure for them to ensure that their children can have a good baby.
Fourth, the number of international marriages in Japan is increasing.
By the end of 2002, the number of international marriages in Japan (referring to foreign-related marriages in China) had increased to more than 270,000, of which nearly 70% came from China, South Korea and North Korea. According to the statistics of the Immigration Bureau of the Ministry of Justice of Japan, the number of people applying to settle in Japan on the grounds of the spouse of one party to an international marriage accounts for 14% of the total number of people applying for settlement. From 65438 to 0996 in Osaka, there were more than 20,000 international marriages in which one party was from China, mainly in Shanghai and its surrounding areas. Because young women don't get married or get married early, it is difficult for men over 40 to find women under 30, so they all look overseas and cross-border marriages increase.
V. Marriage registration in Japan and Korea.
(A) advanced e-government, bringing convenient marriage registration services. It is reported that Japan is one of the first countries in Asia to start e-government. 1993 10 the Japanese government regards government informatization as one of the important contents of administrative reform and has formulated a plan to promote government informatization. In March 2000, the Japanese government launched the "e-government project", and in 2006 10, it put forward the "e-Japan strategy", with the goal of establishing corresponding e-commerce and e-government regulations and realizing e-government.
The development of e-government in Korea basically belongs to the "government-led" model. In April 2002, the Korean government formulated a five-year information promotion plan, namely "E-Korea 2006". The plan will promote government online services and strengthen personal mobile services and public participation in the decision-making process. The goal is that by 2006, all public administration services will be provided online, and all citizens and community activities will be provided online.
The e-government systems in Japan and South Korea show many advantages in operation:
(1) Unified and efficient e-government for household administration and marriage management, providing labor-saving, time-saving, convenient and fast marriage registration services for marriage parties. In the past, in order to register marriage, residents had to go to the city and district government to get the corresponding forms, and then fill them out and submit them to the city and district government. All inspection and handling procedures are manual and require multiple round trips. Now, when residents apply for marriage registration, they can download the electronic marriage application from the Internet of the national unified management system. After accepting the application, confirm it through the Internet and provide relevant certificates and approvals. For the applicant, all procedures can be solved through the Internet. Things that could not be done many times in the past can now be done in 1 time, even sitting at home or in the office, and it is basically not limited by geography.
(2) A large number of systematic data ensure the accuracy and correctness of marital status. The huge data management system ensures the effective implementation of government e-government. In Japan and South Korea, the government attaches great importance to the same-sex information related to citizens, establishes a unified database, gives full play to the functions of various government databases, and promotes the supplement, development and application of databases by various departments. This kind of detailed demographic data and detailed marriage household registration management information are shared online electronically, which makes the marriage registration review work fast and accurate. And ensure citizens' demand for proof of marriage, household registration, birth and other conditions.
(3) Realizing the enjoyment of administrative information and effectively solving legal problems. The resources of Japanese and Korean government departments ensure the authenticity of all kinds of data. In all kinds of affairs, the government does not examine (or recognize) the marriage acceptance certificate held by the parties, but verifies the household registration certificate issued by the household registration management organ according to the system data. This practice has achieved very good results, avoiding the common situations in China's marriage management, such as impersonating to defraud the marriage certificate, asking someone to intercede or leading intervention to illegally obtain the marriage certificate, or even simply forging a fake marriage certificate, which can not prove the real situation and marital status. Our legal problems are avoided in Japan and South Korea because of the informationization of management and the sharing of data networking resources among various departments.
(2) The integration of marriage registration authority and household registration authority is also a benign mechanism to effectively promote marriage registration. In Japan and South Korea, the marriage registration office and the household registration office are combined into one. This mechanism is very beneficial to the management of government affairs with people as the main body. Marriage and household registration are an inseparable whole, and the emergence and disintegration of marriage will inevitably involve the corresponding changes in household registration. When accepting the application for marriage, the government household registration department (or civil affairs department) will simultaneously transfer the household registration book of the parties from the system for verification, and record the basic information of both husband and wife in the household registration book when approving the marriage. If the parties have false behavior when applying (such as false age or unmarried spouse, etc.). ), can be found in the household registration book, refused to register in time. The combination of the two will not only reduce the repeated procedures, but also reduce the number of government administrators. More importantly, this management system has achieved the real purpose of management, that is, the rapidity of public service and the accuracy of administrative management. This kind of management system is exactly what our country can absorb in administrative management.
(3) The open system and government affairs hall established by the government have improved the efficiency of the government. The lobby on the first floor of the municipal government or district government in Japan and South Korea is a government hall, and the household registration department (or civil affairs department) is responsible for administrative affairs involving basic issues of citizens, such as marriage, birth and death registration. In addition to the government's public website for public inquiry, the government affairs hall also makes all procedures public and accepts business consultation. The fees for issuing certificates are also clear and open, which ensures the fairness and transparency of government management. In Japan and South Korea, there is no phenomenon that the government collects fees or charges for various services by handling public affairs. The funds required by the Japanese government to handle public services are fiscal, including various administrative expenses and database maintenance. Our delegation specially observed the public affairs such as marriage registration in the government halls of Japan and South Korea, and never found any other fee-based services except certificate and certification fees, which is worth learning from.
Six, Japan, South Korea's inspection of China's marriage registration management.
In August 2003, the State Council promulgated the Regulations on Marriage Registration, which made a major reform in the marriage registration system, canceled the practice that marriage registration was issued by the unit, and changed the marriage to a declaration signed by both spouses; Provisions on re-registered marriage, invalid marriage and revocable marriage have been added. These reform measures meet the requirements of the times, and fully embody the government's principles of adhering to public services, putting people first, acting according to law and giving priority to efficiency. However, in the process of implementation, there are still some difficult legal and regulatory issues.
For example, the unit certificate has been cancelled, but citizens still need proof of marital status in civil and commercial activities such as overseas house purchase, bank loan and marriage; Another example is: due to the lack of overall systematic management and accurate marriage data in marriage registration, citizens can only apply for marriage registration at the place where they are registered; This has brought some unnecessary troubles to the marriage parties whose both sides are not working in the registered permanent residence, and also brought some legal problems such as the difficulty in re-recognizing the validity of marriage registration due to re-registration, taking the false marriage certificate and forging a fake marriage certificate. In addition, the most important basis for determining whether the marriage of the parties is legal is the original file record of marriage registration, which is also the most direct and accurate proof of the marital status of the parties to the marriage. It is not only neglected in the marriage management in China, but also lost a lot with the changes and adjustments of departments, institutions and personnel. So far, there are very few registration agencies that can keep the marriage registration files completely for 20 years. Due to its various changes in the past decades and the proliferation of false certificates, marriage certificates can not be distinguished from real certificates, and the demand for marriage registration offices to issue relevant marriage registration records is increasing gradually. Because we have no database and no information networking, it is still a difficult problem in judicial practice at present. Because the vast majority of grass-roots registration authorities have not implemented information management, they still stay in the manual operation stage, which not only fails to save accurate information, but also makes random changes, practices fraud or loses a large number of files. Although some places have begun to implement information management, the systems adopted are different. Except for a few provinces and cities, most places have not yet established a perfect database, nor have they quickly established inter-provincial networking, nor have they been linked with the personal basic information of the household registration management department. Therefore, the relevant information cannot be used for the examination and authentication of marriage registration (lack of contact and timely update also cause inaccurate and incomplete information). It not only wastes resources, but also can't really solve the people's demand for government services. If we refer to the system management of Japan and South Korea, realize the sharing of information resources such as population and household registration, and modify relevant measures at an appropriate time, the problems listed above will be solved. To this end, we should focus on solving the following problems:
(1) Formulate and implement the National Marriage Registration Information Management Plan as soon as possible. It takes three years to establish and realize the information management of marriage registration offices at all levels. It is necessary to take into account the characteristics of 8 million to 9 million registered marriages and the huge data of nearly 400 million registered marriages in the past 50 years, incorporate them into the overall planning of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, strive for financial support, establish a national marriage registration management convergence system, realize inter-provincial networking, and establish a data center with provinces as units; Local civil affairs departments at all levels solve the matching funds and complete the regional network supporting project. In order to improve the modernization level of government management and realize the online application procedure of marriage registration, the automation of internal affairs, the digitalization of marriage file management and the systematization of marriage certificate. The implementation and completion of this plan will solve the problem of insufficient staffing in various places to the greatest extent, and at the same time, it can effectively solve the problems such as the concern of relevant departments and personnel about the false statements of the parties, the emergence of invalid marriages and bigamy, and the limitations and inaccuracies of certificates issued without marriage registration records.
(2) Establish an effective cooperation mechanism between marriage registration and household registration management. In this way, the information asymmetry and many loopholes in the work caused by the separation of marriage registration management and household registration management are avoided. At present, marriage registration management and household registration management in China belong to two different departments: civil affairs and public security. They work independently according to their own processes, and their information and resources are isolated from each other, which leads to the limitations and inaccuracies of serving the public. The management of government's public service simply realizes informationization, without reorganizing and reforming the government's organizational structure and administrative business processes, so e-government is very limited and still cannot meet the public's needs to the maximum extent. Of course, we also see that it is difficult to reach a unified management mechanism in the short term. Therefore, by establishing an effective information cooperation mechanism, the traditional government management mechanism and operation mode can be partially integrated into the field of information management, and a benign mechanism of integration of marriage registration management and household registration management can be realized. Gradually realize the network interaction system with horizontal departments such as household registration and family planning to ensure the accuracy of marriage registration information. Thus, the certification work will be gradually reformed, and the marriage registration authority will issue accurate and effective marriage record certificates at any time according to the needs of the parties and the latest records in the marriage database, so as to solve the needs of marriage parties and relevant departments for proof of marital status and effectively protect the rights and interests of marriage parties, thus fundamentally solving a series of legal disputes arising from defrauding marriage certificates and some parties illegally defrauding marriage certificates and divorce certificates for personal purposes. It can not only prevent illegal marriage, but also curb bigamy.
(3) Coordinate and solve the problem of fees for proof of marital status. Referring to the practice of Japan and South Korea, the marriage registration office charges the same fee as the certificate of marital status to make up for the shortage of office funds at the grassroots marriage registration office. No matter in Japan or South Korea, there is no registration fee for marriage registration, but there is a license fee, and so is China. China also does not charge registration fees for marriage registration, but the cost of issuing marriage certificates is the same as that of Japan and South Korea (RMB in 9 yuan). In addition, due to the change of the situation, citizens require more and more marriage registration offices to issue unmarried certificates according to the files. The government registration authority should also have the responsibility to issue the above certificates for the parties concerned, but it should also learn from the practices of Japan and South Korea and charge the same fees as marriage certificates to alleviate the shortage of administrative funds. Adequate administrative funds are also an important guarantee to ensure the clean, efficient and normal operation of the marriage registration office.
Conclusion: Paying attention to people-oriented civil affairs conforms to the requirements of the development of the times and the needs of building a harmonious society. Changing marriage registration from institutionalized management to humanized government public service will help us better resolve various contradictions in the process of social transformation and maintain social stability.