Expectations low as Hague signing approaches

Treaty seen by many as mere window dressing in hunt for international community’s approval

Colin P.A. Jones
Professor, Doshisha University Law School

Professor Colin P.A. Jones
(Photo by Shinchosha)

Introduction

Japan has developed a growing reputation as a haven for international parental child abduction. Major media outlets in the United States and other countries have brought attention to a number of recent cases of children being unilaterally removed by a Japanese parent from the United States before or after divorce, often in violation of American law and court orders.

Attempts to achieve the return of children taken to Japan through the Japanese legal system tend to be unsuccessful. As a result, some children who were born and raised in the United States have lost all contact with an American parent and other relatives, American friends, and the American part of their heritage as a consequence. The apparent lack of legal remedies for abduction in Japan is due to a number of factors that are discussed in more detail below.

Read full article here:

http://amview.japan.usembassy.gov/e/amview-e20120201-02.html

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