While undergoing a divorce in Japan, many married couples live separately. While this can ease the tension between the spouses, it also can severely change the economic standing of the two parties. If only the husband works and earns an income, it may be extremely difficult for a wife to afford to live separately, especially if she is also taking care of one or more children. Meanwhile, the husband may find that he suddenly has a large increase in his expendable income if he now only has to support himself.
To fix this imbalance, Japanese family courts will often mandate spousal support payments be made during a divorce proceeding. Having the working husband contribute a fair amount of money to his wife every month allows both parties to live comfortably until the divorce can settle the final split of assets between the husband and wife. Spousal support is awarded in addition to any custody support payments that the husband may already be making.
Spousal support in Japan is determined based upon the two salaries of the husband and wife. Similar to the process of calculating child support, there is a government schedule of potential payments based upon a formula that uses each party’s income as input. Instead of providing a specific monetary figure, the schedule will usually provide a range of payments depending on the couple’s circumstances and the parties will arrive at a specific monthly payment through negotiation. If the parties cannot decide, the court will determine an exact amount for them.