"After five years of separation, the law change finally gave us a push for a divorce," Mariya Yamada, a 46-year-old Japanese television personality and actress, told DW in late June, showing her completed divorce certificate with a fresh smile.
"I will submit this paper next week — with the custody box checked for both my husband and myself — and it's all done," she said.
Soon after, the mother of a 13-year-old son announced the completion of her divorce from her actor husband, following Japan's introduction of joint custody for divorced parents in April.
The popular couple's timely divorce drew widespread attention in Japanese media, including major television networks and sports newspapers.
"My husband kept saying that he didn't want to lose custody of our son," Yamada said, "but now he can finally accept the divorce."Akashi: Japan's family-friendliest cityTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
