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Types of divorce: Kyogi Rikon (a simple registration procedure at the ward office. Known in Japanese as “mutual consent divorce”). This is the simplest way but it covers only the divorce if there are children or assets those need to be addressed differently.
Making an agreement beforehand and then file for the Kyogi Rikon can be a good option if you are divorcing on good terms.
In Japan as a rule you do not go to Court to divorce directly, but beforehand you necessarily have to go through mediation.
At mediation you will be called separately, and the mediators will listen to both of you and refer you to each other's will. This can take one time or many times but if you don't find an agreement usually the mediation will be closed and you can go to court where if again you don't find an agreement, a judge will decide.
(Importantly, and this is not limited to divorce, usually if you don't appear at mediation, the mediation is closed without a decision, but if you don't appear at court, the decision will be made and whoever didn't appear loses.)
Please be aware that you need an interpreter at mediation and at court because proceedings will be conducted only in Japanese and though you might not need a lawyer at mediation, I strongly advise having one at court, to help you understand and protect your rights, especially if parental authority or child support is on the table.

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In Japan up to now parental rights/custody are still given only to one of the two parents when they divorce.
The criteria are based on the child's interest.
Is not unusual that the custody might be given to the mother in case of children under elementary school age and to the father in case of boys of junior school or higher age.
The basic criteria is "The interest of the child". Which one of the parents is more able to take care of the child? Is the parent alone or does he/she have a community to support them and help?
Couple issues are often not taken into consideration, if they are not directly related. If a man is an unfaithful husband does not necessarily mean that he is a bad father.
Regarding visitations it is said that in Japan once a month, being granted a few hours with the ex-spouse present is "normal" but I have seen many different agreements depending on the situation.
Ask for what you want and you will have more chances of getting it. And normally speaking, you would not initiate a negotiation of any kind by asking from the beginning just for what you are aiming for, you usually ask for more foreseeing that negotiation implies finding some compromise between what you want and what the other party wants.
If you are living in Japan, you might ask for visitation every other weekend, and at least once a week to have a chat with your child on Skype or LINE, if you are living abroad twice a week a chat on Skype or on LINE, and also after entering junior school age vacation in your home country, vacations divided between parents etc...
This doesn't mean that these will be granted, but If you ask for once a month visitation you actually might end up with zero so it's better to ask for more from the beginning.
Regarding child support, it is basically decided on the last year's income of the one working or on both when both are working. There is a chart for reference.

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In Japan, unlike other countries, alimony is a duty only while the couple is still legally married, and it ends with divorce. This means that during the divorce process, the court may award temporary spousal support to the spouse who cannot support themselves but not after divorce.
Compensation is often requested in case of infidelity and the compensation can be demanded from both the spouse and the person whom the spouse cheated with. (The amount of compensation depends on the cheaters' income and is usually not big money...)

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There are shelters for women and children, you don't need a lawyer, you can go to the police or contact the ward office and they will help you. If you don't speak Japanese please contact me and I will help you communicate with the police for free.

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For inheritance procedures, usually a lawyer is used. If you are not sure of your technical Japanese, you might wish to use an interpreter.

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If you have been sued by a girl from a date app or from a date you need to appear at court and I usually advise to use a lawyer.

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Accused of sexual assault
If you have been sued I strongly advise to use a lawyer.
If you are a victim, go to the police as soon as possible to report it and then take advice from a lawyer.

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If your spouse disappeared with your child/children either internationally or domestically move fast, time is hugely important. Finding a lawyer specialized in child abduction cases is the first step.

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If you have been sued I strongly advise to use a lawyer.
If you want to sue go to the police with evidence.

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You want to quit and you don't understand how or the right timing to leave?
You are not getting paid for all the overtime you worked?
In Japan work problems are usually very well managed by the labor unions (roudou kumiai) and their services are for free.
Most times rather than hiring a lawyer that might cost you more than what you will win from the case, it's better to get help from your union, it’s free and in most cases, employers are very responsive when contacted by unions.
However if you the Union is not able to help you or you have been unfairly laid off and you want to sue, you might need a lawyer.
If this doesn't work then you can still can use a lawyer.
Need an interpreter at the union?

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Visas are given under certain conditions, because you are married or because you work etc., but even if you have a valid visa in terms of dates, those are not the only conditions for those visas, living with your spouse, working for the company which applied for your visa and others are fundamental conditions also.

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A condition for the spouse visa to be valid is not only being married but also living together. If one of the two is living apart for any reason, this could be grounds for invalidity, especially if one of the two changes their residence.

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If you obtain a visa for a Company and, for any reason you leave that company, you need to let the immigration office know.

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Basically, you can apply on your own with no problem, you just need to gather all the papers and bring them to immigration. If you are not familiar with procedures an interpreter/translator will be enough.
If you have been refused once, it might not be a good idea to try again on your own. There are reasons that don’t look important or are not easy to understand for foreigners that could get in the way, so in this case, it’s better to get help from a specialist.
You can ask a lawyer, but in Japan, even if lawyers can apply for visas, is not their specialty, this is the visa specialists' work (Gyoseishoshi)*.
Fees and procedures depend on which visa are you applying for and if there are complications.
*I would strongly recommend a lawyer if you have criminal records. If you have been refused the extension don't overstay and please contact an immigration lawyer or right away!

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If you need to be helped with your visa, you can ask a lawyer but, even if lawyers can apply for visas, it's the Immigration Lawyer (visa specialists') work.

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Sometimes, even if do you have all the rights to renew your visa you just forget to do it and when you realize it, you are in a panic!!
The first thing to do is to go to the Immigration Center and explain your situation. Please be aware that if you get stopped by police, you will be arrested for overstay but if you go on your own to the Immigration Center, usually they're very understanding.
But if you got arrested when you have the right to ask for a renewal of your visa but you just forgot to do it, you will need an immigration lawyer (a visa specialist) to help you out.
Not every lawyer taking care of you when you have been arrested would undertake these procedures so if you have been arrested your spouse, or somebody else will need to find an immigration lawyer on your behalf, and send them to see you at the police station you're detained at and provide all the needed documents.

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If you are involved in a criminal case you will be arrested, and as a rule, during the first 3 days of detention at a police station you will be sent to the prosecutor's office who will decide if the case is worth investigating and in this case the prosecutor will file a request to keep you *in temporary detention. The day after this you will be sent to see a judge, and the judge will accept and sign the request or deny it.
If the judge accepts the request, you will be kept at the police station for 10 days in temporary detention, and the prosecutor has the right to ask for another 10 days if the investigation/case is not close or clear.
23 days is the maximum time of temporary detention allowed so at the end of it the prosecutor will decide either to close the case, or to indict/prosecute you. In this case the court day (or the first hearing) is usually 30-45 days from the day of indictment.
Being arrested or prosecuted doesn't always lead to deportation, it depends on if your visa has expired during the process or on the type of crime you have been arrested for.
*With a lawyer's help, especially if you have a Japanese spouse, the prosecutor might decide to continue the case but without keeping you in temporary detention.
Moreover as a rule, the day you have been arrested the Bar Association dispatches a lawyer and an interpreter for a one time counseling.
On the day you will see the judge if the judge confirms the temporary detention, you will be asked if you need a lawyer and if you do and you have less than 500.000 yen you will be assigned a lawyer and an interpreter free of charge. (The Bar Association might ask to be repaid back).
As the Japanese system to dispatch lawyers is different from other countries, it may happen that the one time first lawyer and the court appointed lawyer might be really good lawyers. Moreover, if somebody in your family or a friend has been arrested and you want to have direct information you can also hire a lawyer for a one-time-visit to the police station to check.

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Not many foreigners know that in Japan there are two types of car insurance, and you need both to cover what in other countries is covered just by one.
One is mandatory but covers ONLY the other party's physical injuries (and sometimes not all) NOT the car damages.
This means that you will have to bear all the expenses for repairs of the other party's car.
The second type is called Nii-hoken (voluntary insurance and this one covers the other party's car damages also).
You got hit and you don't know how much compensation you should ask?
You hit somebody and you don't understand what the criteria are for compensation?

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Consult with a lawyer to understand your rights/duties and proofs of evidence such as mails, line messages, pictures, recordings of conversations (in Japan this is allowed).

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What is a normal compensation fee? How much it is fair to pay or to request?
How much is the average?
When it comes to damages there are two points to consider.
One is the actual damages such as those proven by medical certificates and for those, there is a chart, and the amount will be decided depending on how much time of hospitalization/period of going to the hospital as an outpatient for treatment. The amount is decided depending on the lengths of the period as inpatient or outpatient.
Along with the amount decided by the chart, there are the medical expenses, the period of leave from work, etc. that are added.
The other one is compensation for distress, psychological or other damages and those do not follow any chart but change greatly depending on whether those compensations are for getting forgiven and getting charges withdrawn, or the other party is in temporary detention or not.
When it comes to agreements for compensation, I think that doing it on your own is not always a good idea, because there are lots of variables to take into consideration, not to mention that if you don't manage to find an agreement the prosecutor might decide to go for a fine, and in Japan that means a criminal record. So one party will be fined, with consequential problems when renewing their visa and the other, nothing. So it’s a lose-lose situation.
One more thing to take into consideration is that agreements are not only about money. Another important factor is clauses that might protect you. (Along with ensuring that the parties cannot ask for anything more in the future, one party can ask the other not to ever come near to his/her house/place of work, not mention his/her name on social media, etc.)

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