Children's Rights Council Japan

[Mandylion]

Children's Rights Council, Japan is a group working to -

"restore the rights of children subject to parental separation in Japan, such as divorce, international parental abduction to Japan, parental abduction within Japan and birth out of wedlock. We want to assure these children of meaningful and continuing contact with both parents and both extended families, regardless of the parents' citizenship or marital status."

This is a bigger problem than we tend to think and it impacts not only foreign parents, but also Japanese mothers and fathers.

This is a good site to look at if your child has been abducted, you are in the middle of a custody battle or are working for visitation rights. They have many connections within the ex-pat and Japanese community who are working for the same thing - the rights of children and parents.

The website also has Japanese and Spanish language sections.

Lastly, it is a good idea to take a look if you are thinking about living in Japan long-term or are married to a Japanese citizen *

(*I don't mean to imply that your marriage will endi n divorce and the abduction of your children. However, it is wise to know how you will be treated by the system and the steps you can take to protect yourself if the worst happens).

Thank you for your time - Mandylion

www.crcjapan.com

 

[Hachiko]

This is a very good website, Mandylion. I didn't that there would be so many children abducted in Japan. Heck, it may be worse than here in America. But then again, that's just my opinion.

 

[Mandylion]

It is a fairly big problem almost everywhere, the biggest difference is how much power parents have to fight with. In the paper when I went back to the US over the New Year there was a big expose on one lady's fight for her son who had been abducted to Egypt (perhaps the one place even harder to get a child back from).

Thie thing is, with other countries, mainly ones who have signed the Hauge Convention, there is a lot more legal muscle parents can flex.

Japan has not signed the Hauge Convention. The only thing that could probably get them to do so at this time would be a seat on the Security Council, which means a more militant Japan, which means a less stable East Asia (IMHO). Things will be going nowhere fast...

 

[Hachiko]

It is a fairly big problem almost everywhere, the biggest difference is how much power parents have to fight with. In the paper when I went back to the US over the New Year there was a big expose on one lady's fight for her son who had been abducted to Egypt (perhaps the one place even harder to get a child back from).

Thie thing is, with other countries, mainly ones who have signed the Hauge Convention, there is a lot more legal muscle parents can flex.

Japan has not signed the Hauge Convention. The only thing that could probably get them to do so at this time would be a seat on the Security Council, which means a more militant Japan, which means a less stable East Asia (IMHO). Things will be going nowhere fast...

...and not to mention the rise of the Japanese military, and the end of Jiei-Tai. If they do sign it, I'm sorry, but General Tojo could be sipping shochu and sake in his grave, as the rising sun ensign will become more popular.

And to put it succinctly, East Asia is already unstable. North Korea building nuclear weapons, China not letting Taiwan go...the region [politically] is in worse shape. Guess the only think to do now is add fuel to the fire, hmm hmm hmmm?

 

[Uncle Frank]

Bounce up for new discussion.

Some more info to go with the thread about Japanese wives and children of divorce.

Uncle Frank

 

[danjamz]

20 May 2011
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. Correspondents say the move follows intense foreign pressure on Tokyo. Its policies have been blamed for making it easy for Japanese mothers to remove children from foreign fathers.

The Hague Convention aims to protect the rights of both parents, and it seeks to ensure that custody decisions are made according to the laws of the country which provided the first residence for the children. A Japanese official, Yusuke Asakura, said that Prime Minister Naoto Kan's cabinet had endorsed the change.

Number of international custody cases involving Japan
Twelve countries have been urging Japan to sign up to the Hague Convention:

US: 131
Canada: 38
UK: 38
France: 30
Germany 2
Australia, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand and Spain - no figures available
Belgium and Colombia - 0 cases

Profound switch
In Japan, the courts normally give custody to one parent after a marriage breakdown and it is up to that parent whether they let the other parent have any access. Many separating couples come to amicable agreements, but it is not unusual for one parent to be cut out of their children's lives forever. There are a quarter of a million divorces in Japan every year, which is relatively low by international standards, but a dramatic increase in its own context.

The BBC's Tokyo correspondent, Roland Buerk, has said that implementation of the decision to follow the Hague Convention is likely to be a long process. It would mean a change from the expectation that families should largely work things out for themselves, to the state enforcing agreements on access and child-support payments.

Bills to change Japanese law - which has no concept of joint custody - are expected to be submitted to parliament by the end of the year. But our correspondent says these are likely to face some opposition on the grounds that the changes could hinder Japanese fleeing abusive relationships abroad.

Thousands of Japanese people marry foreigners every year.

from the bbc: bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13465814