'Kathy' writes: "My husband and I have a property in Japan, which is under his name. Unfortunately we are filing a divorce now. We have a 5-year-old son, who I am fighting for the custody of. My husband doesn't have a job, and he has been cheating on me for a while, and I have been supporting my child for a long time now.

"My question is, I have the copy of the deed of the property, but can I make a copy of it, as proof that he does have assets under his name, so I can file for alimony for my child? Is copying of his property deed a crime? Your answer will be a big help to me."

First of all, making a copy of the deed is not a crime. However, to prove that he has assets under his name, an official copy of registry of a property is generally required as evidence. This document is called a tōkibo-tōhon in Japanese and can be obtained for a small fee by anybody for any property from the Legal Affairs Bureau (hōmukyoku) where the property is located.