SEISEI INSIGHTS — Succession

When a Chinese Resident Dies in Japan: Chinese Law or Japanese Law? The First Fork in the Road

2026-06-15

When a family in Japan asks us "how should the estate be divided," the first thing we confirm is not the substance of the division but which country's law governs it. For the same family, whether Chinese or Japanese law applies changes both who inherits and how much. Get this starting point wrong, and every later discussion loses its footing.

The Governing Law of Succession Is Determined by Nationality

Japan's Act on General Rules for Application of Laws governs which country's law applies to cross-border private-law relationships. Its Article 36 provides that "succession is governed by the national law of the decedent." It is not where the person lived, but the law of the country of their nationality, that governs the inheritance.

So when a Chinese national dies in Japan, who inherits and in what shares is determined, in principle, under Chinese law — even if the person lived in Japan for years and had their base of life there.

How the Shares Differ Between the Two Laws

Under Chinese statutory succession, the spouse, children, and parents stand as heirs of the same rank and, in principle, share equally. Under Japan's Civil Code, by contrast, Article 900, Item 1 sets the share of children and the spouse at one-half each, and where there are several children, their half is divided equally among them (Item 4).

Issue	Chinese statutory succession (general framework)	Japanese Civil Code (Art. 900)
First-rank heirs	Spouse, children, and parents rank equally	Spouse and children (parents do not inherit if there are children)
Spouse's share	In principle equal to other heirs	One-half when inheriting alongside children
Treatment of parents	Inherit even when children exist	Not heirs when children exist

For the same estate, whether the spouse and parents-in-law split equally or the spouse secures one-half turns entirely on which law applies.

"Division" and "Taxation" Are Separate Questions

A point easily overlooked: the governing law does not decide tax. It decides who inherits how much; whether inheritance tax applies is determined separately by Japan's Inheritance Tax Act. Article 1-3 of that Act defines the scope of persons liable for inheritance tax — and where the requirements as to the location of property and domicile are met, the estate falls within Japanese inheritance tax regardless of which country's law governs the division. The share question and the tax question must be kept as two distinct matters.

A Will Can Be "Valid" Yet Not "Usable"

Wills require their own governing-law analysis. As to form (formal validity), the Act on the Law Applicable to the Form of Wills, Article 2, treats a will as formally valid if it conforms to any one of several laws: the law of the place of the act, the national law, the law of domicile, the law of habitual residence, or the law of the location of the immovable. A will drafted in Japan or in China may be formally valid if it meets any one of these. The creation and effect of a will, separately, are governed by the testator's national law under Article 37 of the Act on General Rules (form falls outside that article).

But "formally valid" and "usable in practice" are not the same. In Japan, executing a will requires probate (kennin) by the Family Court, and in contexts such as real-estate registration, a will that has not passed the prescribed procedures may not be accepted.

Treat It as a Structural Question

In our experience, most problems arise not from "dividing it wrong" but from never asking under which law it should be divided. Four things to map: the decedent's nationality (the governing law), the scope of heirs, the location of the assets, and taxation. Setting these out on a single structural diagram is the starting point of cross-border succession.

This article provides general information on tax and legal systems and does not constitute individual tax or legal consultation. Specific filings and procedures are handled by licensed partner tax accountants and professionals whom we introduce.

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