Who are the heirs? Fixing the scope of per-stirpes and re-substitute succession through the family register

In short: per-stirpes succession (daishu) is the mechanism whereby, when the decedent's child who would have been an heir died before the decedent, or lost the right of succession through disqualification or disinheritance, that child's child (a grandchild from the decedent's view) inherits in their place (Civil Code, Article 887, paragraph 2). If the grandchild too has lost the right for the same reasons, a great-grandchild takes by re-substitution (Article 887, paragraph 3). By contrast, where siblings are heirs, a sibling's child (niece or nephew) takes by substitution, but there is no re-substitution beyond that (to a niece's or nephew's child), because Article 889, paragraph 2 applies only Article 887, paragraph 2 and does not apply paragraph 3. The causes of substitution are the three of "death before the decedent, disqualification, and disinheritance"; renunciation of succession is not a cause, because a person who renounces is deemed never to have been an heir (Article 939). Whether heirs extend to grandchildren or nieces and nephews is fixed by gathering the family register back to birth and organising it into a family-relationship diagram. The administrative scrivener supports gathering the register, heir investigation and preparing the family-relationship diagram, but inheritance registration (name change) is for a judicial scrivener, inheritance tax for a tax accountant, and where the estate division is in dispute for a lawyer — each on the premise that you contract with each as an independent business. Sale and management of inherited real estate is handled by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd., a separate business. This article is general information and does not fix the scope of heirs in an individual case. Our office receives no referral fee.

What is per-stirpes succession, and who inherits in place of whom?

Per-stirpes succession is a system whereby, when the person who would have been an heir has already lost the right of succession at the time succession opens, that person's direct descendant (such as a child) becomes the heir in their place. Article 887, paragraph 2 of the Civil Code governs this for the decedent's child. When a child died before succession opened, or fell under disqualification (Article 891), or lost the right of succession through disinheritance (Article 892), that child's child (the decedent's grandchild) takes by substitution and becomes an heir.

What matters here is that "the causes of substitution are limited to three." As the table shows, renunciation of succession is not included.

Situation	Does substitution occur?	Basis
The child who would be heir died before succession opened	Yes	Civil Code, Article 887, paragraph 2
That child falls under disqualification	Yes	Civil Code, Article 887, paragraph 2; Article 891
That child was disinherited	Yes	Civil Code, Article 887, paragraph 2; Article 892
That child renounced succession	No	Civil Code, Article 939 (deemed never to have been an heir)

A person who renounces succession is deemed, as to that succession, never to have been an heir (Article 939). Therefore the child of a person who renounced does not inherit in their place. This is an easily confused point. For the whole picture of who the heirs are and how shares work, see What are the statutory shares in inheritance?.

How far does re-substitution continue, and what about a siblings' succession?

In the line of the decedent's children (direct descendants), per-stirpes succession continues downward. If a grandchild too has lost the right of substitute succession through death before succession, disqualification or disinheritance, a great-grandchild takes by substitution. This is re-substitution, defined in Article 887, paragraph 3, which applies the provision of paragraph 2 to the substitute. As long as direct descendants continue, succession substitutes down the generations.

By contrast, where the decedent has no children and no direct ascendants and siblings become heirs (Article 889, paragraph 1, item 2), the treatment differs. If a sibling has lost the right of succession before succession opened, that sibling's child (a niece or nephew from the decedent's view) takes by substitution, but only for one generation.

Line	Substitution	Re-substitution (a further generation down)
Line of children	Grandchild substitutes (Article 887, paragraph 2)	Great-grandchild and below also substitute (Article 887, paragraph 3)
Line of siblings	Niece/nephew substitutes (Article 889, paragraph 2 applies Article 887, paragraph 2)	None (Article 887, paragraph 3 is not applied)

This difference arises because Article 889, paragraph 2 applies only Article 887, paragraph 2 and does not apply paragraph 3, which defines re-substitution. Therefore, even if a niece or nephew has already died, their child (the niece's or nephew's child) does not become an heir. In a siblings' succession the scope of heirs tends to branch and widen, and a mistake in fixing the scope leads to redoing the estate-division agreement.

Can an adopted child's child or an unborn child take by substitution?

For an adopted child's child, the conclusion changes depending on whether they were born before or after the adoption. The proviso to Article 887, paragraph 2 provides that "a person who is not a direct descendant of the decedent" does not become a substitute heir. Because an adopted child becomes a blood relative (direct descendant) of the adoptive parent only from the day of adoption, a child of the adopted child born before the adoption is not a direct descendant of the adoptive parent and does not become a substitute heir in a succession where the adoptive parent is the decedent. By contrast, a child of the adopted child born after the adoption is a direct descendant of the adoptive parent and does become a substitute heir.

Adopted child's child	Becomes a substitute heir?	Reason
Born before the adoption	No	Not a direct descendant of the adoptive parent (proviso to Article 887, paragraph 2)
Born after the adoption	Yes	Is a direct descendant of the adoptive parent

As for the unborn, Article 886 of the Civil Code provides that, as to succession, the unborn child is deemed already born (but this does not apply if born dead). By this provision, an unborn child too can become a substitute heir. In practice it is common to wait for the birth and confirm it in the family register before proceeding. These are all situations to confirm carefully from the entries in the family register.

How are the heirs fixed through the family register?

The scope of heirs is fixed through the family register. The basis is to gather all of the decedent's continuous family register from birth to death (family register, removed register, and the register before revision) and confirm whether there are children and whether any child died first. Where substitution has arisen, you also gather the register from birth to death of the child (or sibling) who died first, and the current register of the substitute heir — the grandchild, niece or nephew. Based on the gathered register, you make a family-relationship diagram and list who the heirs are.

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The amendment to the Family Register Act that took effect on 1 March 2024 started a broad-area issuance under which you can request family registers together even at the counter of a municipality other than the registered domicile (Family Register Act, Article 120-2). However, those who can request broad-area issuance are limited to the person, their spouse, direct ascendants and direct descendants, and a sibling's register is outside its scope. The person must also appear at the counter in person; requests by post or by an agent are not allowed. Therefore, when tracing nieces and nephews in a siblings' succession, broad-area issuance cannot be used, and individual requests to the registered domicile are needed as before. For how to gather the register, see Where does inheritance start? Gathering the family register and heir investigation; for the details of broad-area issuance, see Broad-area issuance of the family register (from 2024) and inheritance procedures. The administrative scrivener can support gathering these registers, heir investigation and preparing the family-relationship diagram.

After the scope is fixed, who handles registration and filing?

Once the scope of heirs is fixed, the later procedures are divided among specialists by field. Each is handed off on the premise that you contract separately as an independent business.

• Gathering the register, heir investigation and preparing the family-relationship diagram → an administrative scrivener
• Inheritance registration (name change of real estate) and other registration → a judicial scrivener (organised in The flow of inheritance registration)
• Filing and valuation for inheritance tax → a tax accountant
• Negotiation, mediation and adjudication where the estate division is in dispute → a lawyer
• Sale, management and appraisal of inherited real estate → a real estate broker (Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd., a separate business)

What the administrative scrivener handles is gathering the register and heir investigation, preparing the family-relationship diagram, preparing the estate-division agreement (where there is no dispute among the heirs), and organising materials to pass to each professional. The legal fixing of the scope of heirs or of shares, and representation in a disputed case, are not the administrative scrivener's work but a lawyer's. For the flow of engagement, see Engagement Flow; for fees, see Fee Schedule; and for the whole range of work handled, see Inheritance Services. Sale and management of inherited real estate is handled by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd., a separate business. For the real estate inheritance window, see also Inheritance General Guide. Our office receives no referral fee.

FAQ

Q. If the child who was an heir renounces succession, does their child (a grandchild) inherit in their place?
A. No. A person who renounces succession is deemed, as to that succession, never to have been an heir (Civil Code, Article 939). The causes of substitution are the three of "death before the decedent, disqualification and disinheritance," and renunciation is not included. Therefore the child of a person who renounced does not take by substitution.

Q. When siblings are heirs, do a niece's or nephew's children become heirs?
A. No. In a siblings' succession, substitution reaches nieces and nephews (Article 889, paragraph 2 applies Article 887, paragraph 2), but paragraph 3, which defines re-substitution, is not applied, so a niece's or nephew's child does not become an heir. Unlike the line of children (grandchildren, great-grandchildren), it is only for one generation.

Q. Can an adopted child's child take by substitution?
A. A child born after the adoption is a direct descendant of the adoptive parent and becomes a substitute heir. A child born before the adoption is not a direct descendant of the adoptive parent, so does not become a substitute heir (proviso to Article 887, paragraph 2). You judge by confirming the day of adoption and the day of birth in the family register.

Q. Can an administrative scrivener fix the scope of heirs for me?
A. An administrative scrivener supports gathering the register, heir investigation and preparing the family-relationship diagram. However, the legal fixing of the scope of heirs or of shares, and representation in a disputed case, are a lawyer's work. This article too is general information and does not fix the scope of heirs in an individual case.

Sources (Primary Information)

• e-Gov Law Search, "Civil Code" (Act No. 89 of 1896), Article 886 (the unborn child is deemed already born as to succession; not applied if born dead), Article 887, paragraph 2 (per-stirpes succession of a child; death before succession, disqualification, disinheritance, but excluding a person who is not a direct descendant of the decedent), Article 887, paragraph 3 (re-substitution), Article 889, paragraph 1, item 2 (siblings' right of succession), Article 889, paragraph 2 (applying Article 887, paragraph 2; paragraph 3 not applied), Article 891 (disqualification), Article 892 (disinheritance of a presumptive heir) and Article 939 (effect of renunciation of succession) (accessed 2026-09-30)
• e-Gov Law Search, "Family Register Act" (Act No. 12 of 1898), Article 120-2 (broad-area issuance of family-register certificates; effective 1 March 2024; requesters limited to the person, spouse, direct ascendants and direct descendants; only in-person requests at the counter, no request by post or by an agent) (accessed 2026-09-30)
• Ministry of Justice, Legal Affairs Bureaus and municipalities, "Broad-area issuance of family-register certificates" (confirming that a sibling's register is outside the scope of broad-area issuance) (accessed 2026-09-30)
• Ministry of Justice, "Inheritance procedures" guidance (the scope of heirs and the approach of fixing it through the family register) (accessed 2026-09-30)

This article is general information and does not fix or guarantee the scope of heirs, the success of per-stirpes succession, or shares in an individual case. Gathering the register, heir investigation and preparing the family-relationship diagram are for an administrative scrivener, inheritance and other registration for a judicial scrivener, inheritance and other tax for a tax accountant, and negotiation, mediation and adjudication where the estate division is in dispute for a lawyer — each as an independent business under a separate contract. Sale and management of inherited real estate is handled by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd., a separate business, and our office receives no referral fee. The individual scope of heirs is judged, after confirming the family register, by a qualified professional where needed. Written by Joji Uramatsu, administrative scrivener and licensed real estate broker.