Hague jars with Japan’s family law, a zero-sum game with only one outcome

On April 1, the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction went into force in Japan, as did the necessary implementing legislation. Having already written about this legislation in a prior column, I won’t revisit the subject here. While Japan’s accession is a welcome step forward, I wonder how it will actually pan […]

In Japan, foreign parents lead charge against loss of child custody

A growing number of foreign nationals in Japan are speaking out against what they say is a little-known but entrenched system that allows one parent in a broken relationship to take away children and block the other from visiting them. The issue of what domestic and overseas media call parental child “abduction” has regained international […]

True facts on why Europe and the US don’t trust Japan anymore

Every year, 150,000 children are kidnapped in Japan with the full support of the Japanese authorities. That means one parent decides to take the children without the consent of his/her spouse, and to leave. However surprising this may sound, in the Japanese Parliament politicians are discussing about this problem on a daily basis, mentioning that […]

Parental Abduction Takes Toll on Kids’ Future Mental Health

ABC News reports that 70 percent of children involved in parental abduction cases endure serious mental health issues later on, related to the trauma of the experience. Parental abduction occurs when one parent takes the child or children without the consent of the other parent or of the court, fleeing the area. According to studies, children suffer […]