JAPAN AS A HAVEN FOR CHILD ABDUCTION
- North Korea is Not Japan's Only Abduction Scandal -

Speech: Hideaki Tanaka (President of Fathers’ Website) /(and other speech by CRC Japan)

●●● 15:00-16:30, Mar 11 (Thu), 2004 / at FCCJ (Yurakucho, Tokyo)●●●

Divorce rates are rising in Japan. There were 2.3 divorces per thousand people in 2002 (MHLW statistics), which is comparable to rates in other developed countries, and about 300,000 Japanese children were involved. In Japan, however, there are no joint custody laws, only sole custody. Also, visitation rights are not stipulated in any laws, so there are many cases in which parents with no custody rights after divorce are kept from seeing their own children. Out of all the G8 and developed countries of the world, Japan is virtually the only country that does not have joint custody or visitation rights.

This injustice has lead to one of the biggest tragedies in Japanese family law history; the Osaka abuse case discovered in January. This tragedy could have been avoided if the natural mother was able to see her son and be involved in his upbringing.

Uncontested divorce, an extra-judicial process unique to Japan, is possible with just the signatures of the divorcing parties. But because this process does not consider child custody or visitation rights, there are many parents in Japan that are unable to see their own children. Neither are there are any official marriage counseling centers in Japan. Arbitrations and trial proceeding only superficially settle custody and financial issues, and give little regard to child welfare. In about 80% of Japanese divorces, the wife wins the custody battle (MOJ statistics). Almost half of divorced fathers are cut off from their sons and daughters.

Arbitrations and trials are inclined to value the maintenance of the “current status”, which leads to “the person who grabs the kids first wins”. This causes a painful repetition of “child abduction” between Japanese couples. We at Fathers’ Website have been receiving an increasing number of similar reports saying, “While I was at work, my wife suddenly left me and returned to her parents’ house taking our child. Then she sued me with a cooked up domestic violence scheme and I can’t see my child anymore.

In 1994, Japan ratified the United Nations, “Convention on the Rights of the Child”. But the above cases demonstrate that this convention is not always applied in Japan. Furthermore, there are blatant contradictions between the convention and Japanese Parental Law, where the convention ensures that “a child shall not be separated from his or here parents against their will”.

While I was at work, my wife left me and returned to her parents’, taking my 9-month-old son. She faked DV (domestic violence) stories, entered a DV shelter, and retained a lawyer. I was shocked to receive the arbitration subpoena. I visited her parents’ only to be sworn at by her mother. My wife and her mother hated that my son took to me. During arbitration, my wife and her lawyer demanded that I divorce her and give up child custody if I ever wanted to see my son again. The court advised her to allow me to see my son, but she has refused to do so for a year. The court seems to have given up, for there is no law to enforce visitation.

I cannot believe that child abduction is not a crime in Japan, and that lawyers can use a child as a “tool” for divorce. I am afraid that my son will grow up and not recognize his father. I hear that depriving children the love of a parent could give them severe personality disorders. This worries me so much.

In Oct 1999, I gained the custody of my 1-year-old son after an uncontested divorce. But soon after, my ex-husband grabbed my son. Family Court, High Court, Supreme Court…in all the courts I “legally” won the judgment that my son be returned to me. But I “virtually” lost, for the current law has no way to contest my ex-spouse’s rejection. Being the child’s real mother with custody, why can’t I at least see my son, let alone live with him? I could have taken him away myself, but what is the use of repeating “child abduction? It only hurts the child”. I finally gave up custody in exchange for periodic visitations…but the child’s father continues to deny me visits. I am now appealing for visitation through arbitration, but the defendant always fails to appear in the family court, which is not punishable by law. I can’t even negotiate. I hope that one day, every child will be blessed with the love of “both” parents.

I am a divorced father living apart from my son. The Family Court stipulated the child support and visitation schedule in the arbitration record. After the divorce, I was to be able to see my son 6 times a year. My ex-wife however, has refused my visitations since February 2001. I appealed for visitation through arbitration in Family Court again, and was denied twice. But my ex-wife remains stubborn, and for no legitimate reason, stands in the way of father-child interaction. One year has passed since I claimed damages in District Court, but as of now there is still no decision. I wonder when Japan will become an advanced society where parents and children are able freely communicate with each other.

Father's Website is a Japanese non-profit organization working to modify the Japanese Civil Code to conform to the UN Convention on Children's Rights. In particular we support the enactment of joint custody and visitation policies. We provide emotional support and information to anyone in Japan who is being denied contact with his or her children. In addition to fathers, our members include left-behind mothers and custodial parents.

url: http://www.fatherswebsite.com/   e-mail: world_info@fatherswebsite.com     tel: 03-5475-8207