When a Parent Who Lived in China Dies Leaving Assets in Japan

There are cases in which a Chinese national who lived in China dies while leaving assets in Japan, perhaps because they once lived in Japan or owned investment real estate there. The heirs are also in China. Only the assets are in Japan.

When the decedent lived in China, the determination becomes particularly difficult. The reason is that the applicable law may differ depending on the type of asset located in Japan.

Preparing an agreement on the assumption that “because the assets are in Japan, they can simply be divided under the Japanese Civil Code,” only to be stopped by the Legal Affairs Bureau or a financial institution—this deadlock caused by that assumption is what actually occurs.

Key Points of This Article

• Chinese law is the starting point for the applicable law. China’s private international law provides that statutory succession is governed by the law of the decedent’s habitual residence, so when the decedent lived in China, the habitual residence is China.
• On the other hand, statutory succession to real estate is governed by the law of the place where the real estate is located, so Japanese law applies again to real estate in Japan.
• In other words, a division may arise in which Japanese law applies to Japanese real estate and Chinese law applies to Japanese deposits.
• Under the Chinese Civil Code, the first-order heirs include the spouse, children, and parents. Since the range of heirs differs from Japanese law, the people with whom the assets must be divided may differ by asset.
• Assets located in Japan are subject to Japanese inheritance tax, even when both the decedent and the heirs are Chinese nationals living in China.

1. Why Is It Difficult to Determine the Applicable Law When the Decedent Lived in China?

Japan’s Act on General Rules for Application of Laws provides that succession is governed by the decedent’s national law. If the decedent was a Chinese national, we must examine Chinese law.

Up to this point, the situation is the same as for a Chinese national living in Japan. The difference is that the habitual residence is in China.

Applying the approach of China’s private international law may produce the following division:

This can produce a result different from Japan’s method of handling the entire succession under one law (the principle of unified succession).

This is not merely a theoretical issue; it directly affects practice. If the range of heirs differs under Japanese and Chinese law, the people who should participate in the estate division discussion for the real estate and those who should participate for the deposits may not be the same.

2. What Changes When Chinese Law Applies?

Under the Chinese Civil Code, the first order of statutory heirs includes the spouse, children, and parents. Under the Japanese Civil Code, parents are second-order heirs when there are no children.

Therefore, if the decedent has a spouse and children and the parents are also alive:

• Japanese law: the heirs are the spouse and children
• Chinese law: the heirs are the spouse, children, and parents

The number of heirs itself therefore changes.

If it is determined that Chinese law applies to deposits in Japan, the decedent’s parents will also join the discussion. If the spouse and children prepare an agreement without knowing this, the financial institution may refuse to accept it, or its invalidity may later be asserted.

The fact that the number of heirs may change depending on the law is the first point that must be confirmed.

3. What Must Be Explained to Japanese Offices?

For the parts to which Chinese law applies, the Legal Affairs Bureau and financial institutions in Japan must be shown:

• What range of heirs and what shares of inheritance apply under Chinese law
• What provisions support that conclusion

In practice, the provisions and their Japanese translations are submitted, and depending on the case, a legal opinion from a Chinese lawyer or similar professional is prepared.

For an inheritance by Japanese nationals, submitting the family register is generally sufficient. For the parts to which Chinese law applies, however, the task of “proving the content of that country’s law” also arises. Proving the content of the law is the part that takes our office the most time.

4. Proving Heirship

The decedent has no Japanese family register and no Japanese resident registration (or only old records remain), so the evidence depends almost entirely on materials from China.

• Notarial certificate of kinship (亲属关系公证书)
• Household register (户口簿)
• Death certificate
• Notarial certificates concerning marriage and birth

These are submitted to Japan with Japanese translations attached. An apostille only needs to be obtained when the recipient requests it; it is not always necessary. Even when one is needed, consular authentication by the Chinese Embassy or Consulate-General is not required because the Hague Convention entered into force between Japan and China on November 7, 2023.

For the parts to which Chinese law applies, the range of relatives that must be proved by notarial certificates is broader than under Japanese law. This is because proof concerning the parents may be necessary. If you do not decide at the outset how broad a range to have notarized, you will have to visit the notary office twice.

Since the decedent owned Japanese real estate, they may also have lived in Japan in the past. In that case, a removal certificate from the resident record or the original foreign resident registration record may remain on the Japanese side and serve as strong supplementary evidence.

5. It Is Difficult to Identify the Assets

When the decedent lived in China, it is common for the heirs not to know the full extent of the assets in Japan. They may be unable to check the mail and may not even know which banks held accounts.

The Real Estate Ownership Record Certificate System, which began operating on February 2, 2026, is useful in this situation. It is a system under which the Legal Affairs Bureau makes a comprehensive inquiry into where in Japan the decedent owned real estate and issues a certificate; the heirs can also make the request.

However, unregistered buildings and real estate for which the registered address or name does not match the current situation may be missed. The asset investigation is not necessarily complete with this system alone.

6. Japanese Inheritance Tax May Certainly Apply

Even when both the decedent and heirs are Chinese nationals living in China, assets located in Japan are subject to Japanese inheritance tax. Nationality or address does not make them exempt.

If the decedent owned real estate in Japan, it is quite possible that the basic exemption (30 million yen + 6 million yen × the number of statutory heirs) will be exceeded. Moreover, an issue may arise as to whether “the number of statutory heirs” should be counted under Chinese-law or Japanese-law standards.

The filing deadline is 10 months from the day after the day the death became known. Since confirming the applicable law and collecting documents alone can take several months, starting early is essential. Our office works with tax accountants experienced in international matters.

Expected Timeline

Please allow eight months to more than one year overall. The stages build up as follows.

If the range of heirs changes for the parts to which Chinese law applies, the discussions will have to be redone.

7. Consider in Advance What Happens After Inheriting Real Estate

If you inherit real estate in Japan, completing inheritance registration (mandatory within three years of learning of the acquisition) is not the end.

• Receiving and paying the fixed asset tax notice
• Managing the building and responding to neighbors
• Deciding what to do about a future sale

These burdens continue if you retain Japanese real estate while living in China. If you sell it, subsequent procedures will differ depending on whose name is placed on the registered title.

Services Provided by Our Office

Gyoseishoshi Arch Office has been involved in Japan–China procedures for more than 15 years, based in Osaka. We can assist in Chinese and communicate directly with heirs living in China.

When the decedent lived in China and has assets in Japan, we assist with the following:

• Organizing the separation of the applicable law (which assets may be governed by Japanese or Chinese law) and coordinating with lawyers and local specialists when necessary
• Confirming the documents required by Japanese recipients and identifying the scope of notarial certificates to request from a Chinese notary office
• Investigating materials remaining on the Japanese side (removal certificates from resident records, original foreign resident registration records, etc.)
• Identifying real estate using the Real Estate Ownership Record Certificate System
• Preparing the estate division agreement and supporting procedures with financial institutions
• Coordinating with judicial scriveners for inheritance registration and tax accountants for inheritance tax returns

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Can deposits in Japan also be divided under the Japanese Civil Code? A. If the decedent’s habitual residence was in China, that premise may not hold. Deposits and other movable property may be determined under Chinese law. Confirmation is necessary before preparing the agreement.

Q. What if the decedent’s parents have already died? A. In that case, even if Chinese law applies, the parents are not included in the first order, so the difference from Japanese law becomes smaller. Accurately understanding the family relationships is the starting point for the determination.

Q. How do you determine whether the habitual residence was China or Japan? A. The determination is made comprehensively based on address records, length of stay, the realities of daily life, and other factors. If a resident registration record remains in Japan, its contents are important evidence.

Q. Can the procedures be completed without coming to Japan? A. This is often possible for inheritance of deposits. If you also sell real estate, you may need to appoint an agent or come to Japan.

Q. All the heirs are in China. Who will communicate with the Japanese contact? A. It is common to appoint a professional in Japan. The power of attorney must also be notarized at a notary office.

Contact Us

Separating the applicable law before preparing the agreement is the most important step. If the separation is mistaken, the notarial certificates collected and the agreement prepared may both become unusable. Conversely, once the separation is completed at the outset, the remaining work is to assemble the documents in order.

When consulting us, please prepare the decedent’s nationality, date of death, last place of residence and history of residence in Japan, the number and relationships of the heirs (including whether the parents are alive), and the types of assets in Japan. We can respond in either Japanese or Chinese.

Related Articles

• When a parent who was in Japan dies and I, an heir, am in China
• When a Chinese national living in Japan dies and the heir is in China
• Basics of international inheritance when there are assets in Japan
• Process when inheriting real estate in Japan
• When inherited Japanese real estate cannot be managed