I like to insist my right to inheritance against my father's will

H. Kawarazaki, esq.

Question
I am a naturalized U.S. citizen from Japan.
My father passed away last year and left property in Tokyo, Japan.
10 month ago I knew that my father left will and in the will he gave all his property to my mother and my brother who are still residing in Tokyo.
Can I insist my right to inheritance against my father's will ?

Answer
Acording to Article 900 of Civil Code, legal heirs have the right to inheritance. Portion of inheritance depend on who heirs are.

Heirs	Portion of inheritance
Spouse/children	Spouse 1/2	Children 1/2
Spouse/parents	Spouse 2/3	Parents 1/3
Spouse/brothers & sisters	Spouse 3/4	Brothers & sisters 1/4

If the deceased left no will, property of the deceased is distributed automatically to the surviving children or spouse under the above mentined way in Japan.
If the deceased left will, the property of the deceased is distributed according to the will.

But according to Article 1,028 of Civil Code,spouse, parents and children have the absolute portion of the inheritance. We call it "Iryubun" in Japnese. Brothers and sisters don't have such portion. The absolute portion of the inheritance is one second of portion of inheritance in the case that heirs are spouse and children. The absolute portion of the inheritance is one third of portion of inheritance in the case that heirs are parents.
So you have the absolute portion of the inheritance. It's one forth of all the inheritance.

You should claim "Iryubun" within 1 year since you see that you get no property ( or property less than your "Iryubun" ). If you don't claim within a year, you will lose your right.
So you have the right of "Iryubun". It's necessary for you to claim your "Iryubun" within 1 year.