The guarantee letter from a spouse required for a residency visa encourages domestic violence against children and foreign parents

There is no "non-custodial parent of Japanese child" visa category in Japan, and many foreign spouses in Japan are on spouse visa's.  This applies particularly to wives who may not have the qualifications, skills or experience to acquire any other type of visa.  In these cases, the the foreign parent must depend on the Japanese spouse to be their guarantor for a spouse visa in order to stay in Japan.  This means that the Japanese spouse must literally sign a guarantee letter to be submitted with the visa application for a spouse visa.  No one but the spouse may act as the guarantor for a spouse visa.

If the Japanese spouse is abusing either the couple's child, the foreign spouse or both, the foreign spouse may need to report such to the police or other agencies to get help.  But if the foreign spouse does report the abuse, or even threatens to report the abuse, the Japanese spouse may threaten to withhold the letter of guarantee. Even though the foreign spouse is still married, he or she will then be refused a spousal residency visa and be required to leave Japan. 

As documented in the essay xxxxxxxxx, a foreign spouse, regardless of gender is rarely, if ever granted custody of children when custody is contested by a Japanese citizen.  So in order to maintain contact with his or her child, the foreign spouse must stay in Japan, and support themselves by working.  In fact, in order to pursue mediation, a divorce or fight for custody, the foreign parent will likely have to spend many years in Japan going through the courts.  This also requires them to work to support themselves.  The following cases illustrate that a foreign parent may be denied an entry visa or a visa extension even when they have an active court case.  So without the spouse visa, it may not only be impossible to work, it may not even be possible to stay in Japan for the court case.

• Mother, Yamila Castellanos was denied the right to work in Japan and visa extensions during court proceedings in Japan for forgery on an application for Divorce By Mutual Consent and for the custody battle for her daughter.  She existed only by the charitable graces of others, including that of friends and a convent which provided lodgings during several years of court battles.
• Father, Khawar Ali Shah, while resident outside of Japan, was summoned by a Japanese court for divorce proceedings by Japanese wife and custody of their child.  He was granted a visa to Japan by the embassy, but refused entry by Japanese Immigration.  Twice. 

• Ken Massey had lived in Japan for 17 years and been married to a Japanese women for 10 years.  After their divorce, he was working at a steady job and making regular child support payments until immigration refused to issue him a visa and eventually deported him under suspicious circumstances.  He wonders what happened to his children's right to be near their father, which is guaranteed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Even if the spouse reports them at the beginning of a three year spouse visa, if the Japanese spouse abducts the child and is uncooperative, a very very slow legal system can easily keep the child away from the foreign spouse for 3 years. In any of these cases, when Japanese spouse is abusing a child or foreign spouse, the spouse may be put in a position of choosing whether or not to

• Overstay in Japan illegally without a visa; or
• Leave Japan legally and be separated from their child; or
• Abduct the child out of Japan to avoid Japanese law altogether.

Hence, the residency visa requirement for a signed letter of guarantee by a spouse or Japanese parent has proved to be an accessory to domestic violence against children as well as against foreign parents.  It has also caused Japanese children to be abducted out of Japan in these cases.

Solutions We Want To See

• Amend immigration laws so that a foreign parent of a Japanese child can qualify for a residency visa, either long term or permanent residency, without the letter of guarantee currently required for the granting of such visas.  This should apply towards a spouse visa, a non-custodial parent of a Japanese child visa, or permanent residency for any parent of a Japanese child.
• Amend immigration laws so that a non-married or non-custodial foreign parent of a Japanese child qualifies for a long-term residency visa permitting employment. In particular, sustaining the non-Japanese parent and living in the same country as his or her Japanese child should be an acceptable reason to grant a long term residency visa, even if that parent is not the custodial parent.
• Amend immigration laws so that a non-married or non-custodial foreign parent of a Japanese child qualifies for permanent residency under the same accelerated time frame and favorable conditions as the spouse of a Japanese citizen.
• Barring documented national security concerns, immigration regulations should explicitly permit a non-custodial parent to enter Japan to get a visa to attend court proceedings regarding his or her child.
• Barring documented national security concerns, immigration regulations should explicitly permit a non-custodial parent to enter Japan to get a visa to visit his or her child several times per year.

Documented Cases

• Mother and child, abused during pregnancy and after by Japanese father, avoid Japanese family law by leaving Japan.

• One case in 2005 is known where a mother being severely abused by the Japanese husband and father escaped to the UK in order to avoid losing her residency visa and children.  We have lost contact with her, but have a report that she is doing well.

• <<Add CJFF cases>>

Articles

• International Marriages in Japan: Part Two – Impact of 17 October 2002 Supreme Court decision on International Marriages; J. Sean Curtin (Professor, Japanese Red Cross University);  October 28, 2002. The Supreme Court issued its first decision on the visa status of a non-Japanese spouse married to a Japanese citizen.  Over ruling the Osaka High Court, the Supreme Court said that a marriage must be viable and ongoing, and if the Japanese spouse commits a misdeed, such as infidelity to break up the marriage, the foreign spouse may legally be deprived of his or her spouse visa.  (cached copy)

  • Thai in immigration row won't return for mom's funeral; Asian Political News; January 4, 1999.  Osaka High Court allows Peancai Midchid to stay in Japan after husband's affair causes them to live apart and Immigration to reject her application for a spouse visa.  This was later overturned by Supreme Court.  (cached copy)

• See this petition that will soon be put out to support legal changes to prevent spouse and child abuse.  It has a concise explanation of the connections.
  • http://www.crnjapan.com/japan_law/en/cjff_visa_petition.html
  • http://www.crnjapan.com/japan_law/en/cjff_visa_petition_primer.html

• When Children Get Caught Up In Separation; Eye-Ai, Eye On Society; June 4, 2004.  This article was partially based on interviews with Japan CRN members, and so contains information on a variety of issues including lack of visitation, not signing the Hague Convention on International Parental Abduction, need for a Parent of Japanese Child visa, and Yamila's case.  Includes some Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare statistics on international divorces and children born out of wedlock.

• Lost In A Loophole: Foreigners Who Are on the Losing End of a Custody Battle in Japan Don't Have Much Recourse; Los Angeles Times, September 19, 1996.  Stories of Walter Benda, David Brian Thomas, Dale Martin and Charles Talley.   Describes how lack of a "parent of Japanese child" visa gives an abducting spouse power, how a hanko can be used for fogery, and quotes a Japanese Foreign Ministry official on why Japan does not need to sign the Hague Convention on International Parental Abduction.