Overview
- The Diet approved the revised Civil Code on June 17, 2026, ending the rule that once guardianship began it lasted for life and replacing the three current categories with a single, limited 'assistance' model.
- Under the new rules people can have support tailored to specific acts and periods, and may end formal support before death if a court finds it appropriate.
- An exception called 'specific assistance' remains for people judged to lack capacity at all times, letting assistants cancel key financial acts in 11 listed areas when the family court deems it necessary.
- The law creates a 'digital will' that people can make on a computer or smartphone and deposit at the Legal Affairs Bureau; the system drops the seal requirement and requires ID checks plus a face-to-face or web-based full-text reading to confirm intent.
- Practical work remains: current users may keep existing arrangements or apply to switch, family courts and the Legal Affairs Bureau must build new procedures, and the government plans to start the new assistance rules within 2 years and 6 months and digital wills within 3 years after the law is promulgated.