Family court mediators have inadequate training in both counseling and law

According to the Internet site of the Japanese Supreme Court, entitled " Saiban Tetsuzuki: Kaji Jiken Ni Tsuite", Family Court mediators consist primarily of well-meaning “private citizens with common sense” but who are nevertheless civilian amateurs without formal academic training  

Although most civil servants involved in institutions that oversee the welfare of children are well-meaning, they tend to be (i) generally unaware both of the rights and obligations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; (ii) unaware that these rights and obligations take precedence over what they individually may believe to be “the Japanese way”, (iii) lacking in formal training or qualifications regarding child psychology and other relevant fields, or lacking in access to professionals with such training and qualifications, (iv) focused on the formalistic goals of the systems in which they function (e.g. making a custody determination in accordance with specified procedures), rather than on whether those goals and procedures will serve the best interests of the children subject to them