General Incorporated Association for Family ADR/ODR Mediator Training Established with Participation from Lawyers, University Professors, and Private Organizations; Representative Hironori Kobayashi Appointed as Secretary-General
The General Incorporated Association for Family ADR/ODR Mediator Training, established in March 2026 with the collaboration of lawyers, university professors, and private organizations, aims to promote Family ADR/ODR for amicable and efficient divorces and to establish a system for training and registering specialized mediators. Hironori Kobayashi, Representative Director of Relife Technology Inc., has been appointed as Secretary-General.
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- 📰 Published: March 30, 2026 at 23:00
- 🔍 Collected: March 30, 2026 at 22:56
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 24, 2026 at 07:50 (584h 54m after Collected)
Relife Technology Inc. (hereinafter referred to as "the Company") is pleased to announce that its Representative Director, Hironori Kobayashi, has joined the "General Incorporated Association for Family ADR/ODR Mediator Training" as Secretary-General. This association was established in March 2026 in collaboration with lawyers, university professors, and private organizations.
This organization is a council whose purpose is to promote the widespread adoption of Family ADR/ODR (Alternative Dispute Resolution/Online Dispute Resolution), which enables amicable and efficient divorces, and to make policy proposals regarding the establishment of a system for training and registering specialized mediators who will serve as its facilitators.
### About the General Incorporated Association for Family ADR/ODR Mediator Training
**Background of Establishment**
From April 2026, the joint custody system will be introduced, initiating a new framework where both parents cooperate in making important decisions for their children even after divorce. However, challenges such as unpaid child support, high poverty rates among single-parent households, and prolonged mediation processes have been pointed out.
Furthermore, in Japan, it is often difficult to have dialogue due to mediation procedures conducted in separate rooms, making it challenging to build cooperative relationships after divorce. Given these circumstances, there is a demand for the qualitative and quantitative expansion of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR/ODR).
**Objectives of the Organization**
The primary objective of this organization is to promote the nationwide adoption of Family ADR/ODR, which supports amicable and efficient divorces, and to make policy proposals regarding the establishment of a system for training and registering specialized mediators.
**Main Activities**
1. Training and certification of mediators
2. Industry-academia-government collaboration for policy proposals and advocacy
3. Public relations and awareness-raising activities
**Board Members**
Directors:
Hideaki Irie (Professor, Faculty of Law, Kyushu University Graduate School; Director, Japan Association of Arbitrators and ADR Law)
Yumi Takeuchi (Lawyer; Deputy Secretary-General, Family Law Committee, Japan Federation of Bar Associations)
Shuhei Ninomiya (Professor Emeritus, Ritsumeikan University; Representative Director, General Incorporated Association for Support of Parental Child Contact, National Association)
Michiko Koizumi (Representative, ADR Center for Families)
Secretary-General:
Hironori Kobayashi (Representative, Relife Technology Inc.)
### Mr. Hironori Kobayashi's Position
Mr. Kobayashi, as the representative of a private company that has been engaged in disseminating information and solving social issues to support the building of cooperative relationships after divorce, will be responsible for the secretariat operations of this organization.
He will promote the design of the mediator training system, public relations, and policy proposals through collaboration with lawyers, university professors, and private organizations.
### Representative's Comment
Hironori Kobayashi, Representative Director, Relife Technology Inc.
"Through this organization, we will work to improve the quality and establish the system for mediators involved in Family ADR/ODR, and strengthen cooperation with administrative agencies and related organizations. In the future, we aim for ADR/ODR to become widely accepted in society as a reliable option alongside consensual divorce and family court mediation.
Above all, as the Secretary-General of this organization, I want to contribute to the realization of a society where children's welfare is protected through high-quality mediation, and where parents can cooperate even after divorce."
### General Incorporated Association
Keywords: ADR, ODR, Divorce, Mediation, Mediator, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Joint Custody, Training, FMTI, Divorce Mediation
This organization is a council whose purpose is to promote the widespread adoption of Family ADR/ODR (Alternative Dispute Resolution/Online Dispute Resolution), which enables amicable and efficient divorces, and to make policy proposals regarding the establishment of a system for training and registering specialized mediators who will serve as its facilitators.
### About the General Incorporated Association for Family ADR/ODR Mediator Training
**Background of Establishment**
From April 2026, the joint custody system will be introduced, initiating a new framework where both parents cooperate in making important decisions for their children even after divorce. However, challenges such as unpaid child support, high poverty rates among single-parent households, and prolonged mediation processes have been pointed out.
Furthermore, in Japan, it is often difficult to have dialogue due to mediation procedures conducted in separate rooms, making it challenging to build cooperative relationships after divorce. Given these circumstances, there is a demand for the qualitative and quantitative expansion of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR/ODR).
**Objectives of the Organization**
The primary objective of this organization is to promote the nationwide adoption of Family ADR/ODR, which supports amicable and efficient divorces, and to make policy proposals regarding the establishment of a system for training and registering specialized mediators.
**Main Activities**
1. Training and certification of mediators
2. Industry-academia-government collaboration for policy proposals and advocacy
3. Public relations and awareness-raising activities
**Board Members**
Directors:
Hideaki Irie (Professor, Faculty of Law, Kyushu University Graduate School; Director, Japan Association of Arbitrators and ADR Law)
Yumi Takeuchi (Lawyer; Deputy Secretary-General, Family Law Committee, Japan Federation of Bar Associations)
Shuhei Ninomiya (Professor Emeritus, Ritsumeikan University; Representative Director, General Incorporated Association for Support of Parental Child Contact, National Association)
Michiko Koizumi (Representative, ADR Center for Families)
Secretary-General:
Hironori Kobayashi (Representative, Relife Technology Inc.)
### Mr. Hironori Kobayashi's Position
Mr. Kobayashi, as the representative of a private company that has been engaged in disseminating information and solving social issues to support the building of cooperative relationships after divorce, will be responsible for the secretariat operations of this organization.
He will promote the design of the mediator training system, public relations, and policy proposals through collaboration with lawyers, university professors, and private organizations.
### Representative's Comment
Hironori Kobayashi, Representative Director, Relife Technology Inc.
"Through this organization, we will work to improve the quality and establish the system for mediators involved in Family ADR/ODR, and strengthen cooperation with administrative agencies and related organizations. In the future, we aim for ADR/ODR to become widely accepted in society as a reliable option alongside consensual divorce and family court mediation.
Above all, as the Secretary-General of this organization, I want to contribute to the realization of a society where children's welfare is protected through high-quality mediation, and where parents can cooperate even after divorce."
### General Incorporated Association
Keywords: ADR, ODR, Divorce, Mediation, Mediator, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Joint Custody, Training, FMTI, Divorce Mediation