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Watch clips and find more information about Coming Out of the Shadow, a documentary film about the abduction of children to Japan, 2008.
Abducted in Japan: Japan's controversial sole custody system About Japan's controversial sole custody system that's caught 82
Australian children in parental abduction and custody cases, preventing some parents from seeing their kids. SBS dateline, 2022. See also: 'Whoever abducts first wins': Why Japan won't allow this Australian mother to see her children Catherine Henderson says she hasn’t spoken with her two teenage children since they were abducted by their father over three years ago; something that’s legal under Japan’s custody system.
Australia Asks Japan to Adopt Joint Custody System Australia has asked Japan to introduce a joint custody system in which divorced parents can share custody of their children, in response to a series of cross-border parental child abductions. The Japan News, 2023.
Win by abduction: children are the losers in Japan’s barely-there custody system Zenbird, 2022.
Parental abductions by Japanese becoming diplomatic issue An increasing number of foreign nationals are claiming that their children have been abducted by their current or former Japanese spouse, following the breakdown of their marriage. Not allowing a child to see one of their parents is considered a criminal act in major European countries and the United States, leading to a diplomatic conflict in which Japan is being called on to revise its laws. omuiri Shimbun, 2022.
Black Hole of Child Abduction Japan is accused of turning a blind eye to parental abduction for decades and effectively encouraging it through its sole custody and authority law. HURights Osaka, 2022.
In Japan, foreign parents lead charge against child 'abduction' A growing number of foreigners 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 the children and block the other from visiting them. Reuters, 6 Jan 2020.
Parental child abduction places Japan on blacklist Different views on family hamper compliance with Hague convention. Japan is facing criticism over noncompliance with an international treaty that sets rules for cross-border parental child abductions as the government is slow to enforce court orders on its own citizens who have taken their children to escape overseas custody battles. Nikkei Asian Review, 01 Sep , 2018.
Is Japan a haven for parents who kidnap their own children? Foreign parents who had children stolen by a spouse say nothing has changed because court orders to reunite families are not enforced. South China Morning Post, 15 Jul 2018.
U.S. cites Japan for noncompliance with Hague treaty on cross-border parental child abductions The U.S. State Department on Wednesday listed Japan as one of the countries showing a pattern of noncompliance with the so-called Hague treaty, which sets procedures to settle cross-border parental child abduction cases. Japan Times/Kizuna Child-Parent Reunion, 18 May, 2018
The Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (the Hague Convention) Explanation of the Convention and how the Japanese Government intends to apply it, from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Include a pamphlet in English on 'What is the Hague Convention?'
Behind Japan’s Ratification of the Hague Abduction Convention Why is Japan considered a haven for parental child abductors? Can an international treaty resolve the underlying issues? With Japan finally set to join the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, international marriage expert Kamoto Itsuko takes a closer look at the complex cultural and legal factors involved. Nippon.com, 2013 日本語
Japan votes to adopt child abduction treaty Japan's parliament has voted to adopt an international treaty on child abductions, after years of pressure from Western countries. The 1980 Hague Convention sets out procedures for handling cross-border child custody disputes. BBC News, 22 May 2013.
The Children's Rights Council of Japan blog has an archive of news stories about issues of access, custody and abduction of children in Japan in both Japanese and international families.
Outline of the Hague Child Abduction Convention A summary explanation of the Convention from the Hague Conference.
Japan signs up to global child custody pact The Japanese government has agreed to sign up to an international treaty that sets procedures for settling cross-border child custody disputes.Japan is the only one of the Group of Seven industrialised nations yet to join the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction. BBC News, 20 May 2011.
Little hope for Japan's forsaken fathers Focusing on the case of an Australian man, George Obiso, this article looks at the situation of foreign men married to Japanese women whose children are taken away from them. It also looks at problems caused for Japanese parents by the Japan's refusal to sign an international convention on child abduction and to recognise child abduction as a crime. Sydney Morning Herald, December 8, 2008.
Japan Children's Rights Network provides information to help change attitudes and laws in Japan in order to assure all children of direct, meaningful and continuing contact with both parents, regardless of citizenship, marital status or gender. We want to restore the rights of children in Japan with separated parents, such as in divorce, international parental abduction to Japan, parental kidnapping within Japan and birth out of wedlock. Includes a page on Parental Abduction in Japan
Japan Child Abduction - Japan is the black hole of international child abduction. An organization based in Germany campaigning for stricter action on child abduction to Japan.
Bring Abducted Children Home An organization for US parents of children taken to Japan by Japanese spouses.
Fathers' Right in Japan This organization's "main goal is to create new laws that allow children living in Japan regular access to both parents."Most divorced fathers don't have access to their children. (This site hasn't been updated since about 2013 it seems)
Kizuna Child-Parent Reunion, Kizuna CPR, is working toward restoring the human rights of children in Japan, so every child can once again enjoy relationships with both parents.
Terasawa K. (2003). 'Labor law, civil law, immigration law and the reality of migrants and their children', in M. Douglass & G. S. Roberts (Eds). Japan and global migration: foreign workers and the advent of a multicultural society. London; New York: Routledge. Available from Chuo Library総合政策 325.252/J35 & Mike.