{"id":7199,"date":"2010-07-17T15:37:42","date_gmt":"2010-07-17T06:37:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=7199"},"modified":"2010-07-17T15:38:10","modified_gmt":"2010-07-17T06:38:10","slug":"yet-another-story-of-child-custody-misery-thanks-to-japans-insane-family-laws-and-enforcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=7199","title":{"rendered":"Yet another story of child-custody misery thanks to Japan&#8217;s insane family laws and enforcement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/handbook.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1298\" title=\"HANDBOOKsemifinalcover.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/HANDBOOKsemifinalcover.jpg\" alt=\"Handbook for Newcomers, Migrants, and Immigrants to Japan\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/welcomestickers.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1704\" title=\"welcomesticker\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/welcomesticker-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\\\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.francajapan.org\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1705\" title=\"franca-color\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/franca-color-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Foreign Residents and Naturalized Citizens Association forming NGO\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/tshirts.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1701\" title=\"joshirtblack2\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/joshirtblack2-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\\\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/joshirtblack2-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/joshirtblack2.jpg 240w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 75px) 100vw, 75px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/japaneseonly.html#japanese\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1700\" title=\"jobookcover\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/jobookcover-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\u300c\u30b8\u30e3\u30d1\u30cb\u30fc\u30ba\u30fb\u30aa\u30f3\u30ea\u30fc\u3000\u5c0f\u6a3d\u5165\u6d74\u62d2\u5426\u554f\u984c\u3068\u4eba\u7a2e\u5dee\u5225\u300d\uff08\u660e\u77f3\u66f8\u5e97\uff09\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/japaneseonly.html#english\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1699\" title=\"japaneseonlyecover\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/japaneseonlyecover-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"JAPANESE ONLY:  The Otaru Hot Springs Case and Racial Discrimination in Japan\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cinemabstruso.de\/strawberries\/main.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2735\" title=\"sourstrawberriesavatar\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/sourstrawberriesavatar.jpg\" alt=\"sourstrawberriesavatar\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?cat=32\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4921\" title=\"debitopodcastthumb\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/debitopodcastthumb.jpg\" alt=\"debitopodcastthumb\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nUPDATES ON TWITTER:  arudoudebito<br \/>\nDEBITO.ORG PODCASTS now on iTunes, subscribe free<\/p>\n<p>Hi Blog. \u00a0Forwarding the below from a friend. \u00a0This is just another case of many where we have people (regardless of nationality, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=5919\">thanks to the Koseki System NJ are in a particularly weak situation<\/a>, particularly regarding <a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=5448\">international child abduction<\/a>) doing awful things to their children after divorce simply because they can, and the authorities will do little or nothing to stop it. \u00a0I have of course written on the subject of divorce and post-divorce before (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/thedivorce.html\">here<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/homecoming2007.html\">here<\/a>, for example), but let me say at this juncture that for me it has gotten much, much worse over the past few years. \u00a0(I still myself have seen my kids maybe six times over the past six years, but now there is a development that someday I&#8217;ll tell you about, when I have drawn some conclusions and have some lessons from it.)<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, I&#8217;ve said it before and I&#8217;ll say it again because it is a harsh reality:<\/p>\n<p><strong>As Japan&#8217;s Family Laws stand now, nobody &#8212; regardless of nationality &#8212; should get married to a Japanese and have kids. \u00a0Because if you divorce &#8212; or even separate &#8212; somebody will quite likely lose them completely. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Read on for yet another example of that. \u00a0Even more examples and case studies at the <a href=\"http:\/\/crnjapan.net\/\">Japan Children&#8217;s Rights Network here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Arudou Debito in Sapporo<\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p>(\u65e5\u672c\u8a9e\u306f\u82f1\u8a9e\u306e\u5f8c)<\/p>\n<p><em>(Please forward this message to everyone you know in Japan.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>On 25 March 2010, three children were abducted from their Tokyo home &#8230; by their own mother. All three were taken against their will.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Twenty days later, one child escaped, phoned for help, and was rescued. The abusive and mentally unstable mother immediately moved again and changed the remaining two children\u2019s names &#8230; again.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The police consider this a family issue and will not help. The slow-moving family court has not made one ruling since this occurred, even though a petition for a return of physical custody was filed immediately after the children\u2019s abduction.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>More than 100 days has already passed, and your help is now being requested to find the abducted boys and return them to the home, neighborhood, school, friends, and family they have known their entire life &#8211;a \u00a0family that embraces all aspects of their mixed heritage.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Please look over the photos at the website below and keep an eye out for these two boys.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.savetheboys.net\">http:\/\/www.savetheboys.net <\/a><\/p>\n<p>e-mail: Contact@savetheboys.net<\/p>\n<p><em>If you are tired of these primitive grab-and-runs quietly sanctioned by Japan\u2019s ineffective family court structure, help us stop this one by keeping an eye out for these boys so that they can be returned home.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>You can help. We NEED your help.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Please.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>======================<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>COLLATED PERSONAL NOTES FROM THE AUTHOR, A PERSON I MET IN PERSON YEARS AGO AND CAN VOUCH FOR HIS CHARACTER:<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>July 7 and 8, 2010<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Dear Debito, I would like to request your help finding my two sons, who will be 10 and 7 this year.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Here&#8217;s a brief summary of what happened. I have been in Japan for nearly 20 years (married for 17), and I filed for divorce in January when I could no longer accept my wife&#8217;s increasing abuse of my three children (I have a daughter who just turned 13). My wife has also been in an ongoing affair since 2007. My wife and I began mediation, and at the end of March, she suddenly abducted all three children and disappeared.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>After 20 days, my daughter was able to escape and phone for help, and I was able to rescue her. Her mother then immediately moved again. She has taken a leave of absence from work and even changed the boys&#8217; names, but we do\u00a0know that the boys are enrolled in a public school (1st and 4th grade) and are probably in or around Tokyo.<\/p>\n<p>The family court has been incredibly ineffective (they won&#8217;t even interview the boys, and haven&#8217;t made any rulings), so after over 100 days of trying to go through the system to return these boys to their home, it appears that the only hope for doing so is to make this happen on our own&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>The savetheboys website has been created, and I would like to ask for your help and the help of everyone possible to find these boys so that they can be safely returned to their home.  Feel free to blog what I sent you in the initial e-mail or the text below.  My only request is that you try to keep my family name out of it for the moment.<\/p>\n<p>I certainly do appreciate your assistance.<\/p>\n<p>Last weekend, my daughter and I saw &#8220;The Cove,&#8221; and the producer began the movie by announcing that their team initially desired to obtain footage by going through all the proper channels, but eventually had to resort to more extreme measures after encountering such staunch resistance.<\/p>\n<p>That is the way I feel about this website and my actions now. I did not\u00a0want to put that website up, and I resisted for quite a while. After nearly 20 years in Japan, I wanted to let this play out and give the system the opportunity to carefully examine this case and fix an obvious wrong. Instead, so many within the system have exhibited behavior that is unprofessional, biased, and outright dishonest. In particular, I find the dishonesty of so many &#8220;adults&#8221; to be troubling, and it leaves me with a really bad taste in my mouth.<\/p>\n<p>If I did not actually go out and rescue my own daughter&#8211;against the advice of many, by the way&#8211;she would still be captive, even though she phoned begging for help.<\/p>\n<p><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Thank you again, Debito. Thank you so much. ENDS<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p>(\u3053\u308c\u3092\u65e5\u672c\u306b\u4f4f\u3093\u3067\u3044\u308b\u4eba\u3001\u8ab0\u3067\u3082\u826f\u3044\u306e\u3067\u8ee2\u9001\u3057\u3066\u304f\u3060\u3055\u3044\u3002)<\/p>\n<p>\u304a\u9858\u3044\u3057\u307e\u3059\u3002\u79c1\u306e\u5f1f\u9054\u3092\u52a9\u3051\u3066\u304f\u3060\u3055\u3044\u3002<\/p>\n<p>2010\u5e743\u670825\u65e5\u3001\u79c1\u90543\u4eba\u5144\u5f1f\u306f\u6bcd\u306b\u3088\u3063\u3066\u6771\u4eac\u90fd\u306e\u81ea\u5b85\u30fb\u30fb\u30fb\u304b\u3089\u9023\u308c\u3055\u3089\u308c\u3001\u79c1 \u90543\u4eba\u3068\u3082\u81ea\u3089\u306e\u610f\u601d\u3067\u9023\u308c\u3066\u3044\u304b\u308c\u305f\u308f\u3051\u3067\u306f\u3042\u308a\u307e\u305b\u3093\u3067\u3057\u305f\u3002<\/p>\n<p>20\u65e5\u5f8c\u3001\u79c11\u4eba\u306f\u81ea\u5b85\u306b\u96fb\u8a71\u3092\u3057\u3001\u52a9\u3051\u3066\u3082\u3089\u3044\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002\u305d\u306e\u4e8b\u3092\u77e5\u3063\u305f\u6bcd\u89aa\u306f\u3059\u3050 \u306b\u6b8b\u308a\u306e2\u4eba\u30fb\u30fb\u30fb\u3092\u9023\u308c\u3066\u5f15\u8d8a\u3057\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002<\/p>\n<p>\u8b66\u5bdf\u306f\u3053\u308c\u3092\u89aa\u306e\u554f\u984c\u3060\u3068\u8003\u3048\u3001\u52a9\u3051\u308b\u4e8b\u306f\u3057\u307e\u305b\u3093\u3067\u3057\u305f\u3002\u306e\u3093\u3073\u308a\u3068\u9032\u3080\u5bb6\u5ead \u88c1\u5224\u6240\u306f\u6bcd\u304c\u5b50\u4f9b\u3092\u8a98\u62d0\u3057\u305f\u3068\u3044\u3046\u306e\u306b\u4f55\u3082\u9032\u6b69\u3092\u9042\u3052\u307e\u305b\u3093\u3002<\/p>\n<p>\u5b50\u4f9b\u9054\u304c\u6d88\u3048\u3066\u304b\u3089\u9577\u30443\u30f6\u6708\u304c\u904e\u304e\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002\u305d\u3057\u305f\u4eca\u3001\u79c1\u306e\u5f1f\u9054\u3092\u63a2\u3057\u3066\u304f\u3060\u3055\u3044 \u3068\u3044\u3046\u4e8b\u3092\u7686\u3055\u3093\u306b\u304a\u9858\u3044\u3057\u3066\u3044\u307e\u3059\u3002\u3042\u306e\u5f1f\u9054\u3092\u5f7c\u3089\u306e\u601d\u3044\u51fa\u306e\u5bb6\u3001\u8fd1\u6240\u3001\u5b66 \u6821\u3001\u53cb\u9054\u3001\u305d\u308c\u3068\u5bb6\u65cf\u306e\u3082\u3068\u3078\u623b\u3057\u3066\u3042\u3052\u308b\u306e\u3092\u624b\u4f1d\u3063\u3066\u304f\u3060\u3055\u3044\u3002<\/p>\n<p>\u4e0b\u306e\u30ea\u30f3\u30af\u304b\u3089\u5f1f\u9054\u306e\u5199\u771f\u306a\u3069\u3092\u898b\u3066\u304f\u3060\u3055\u3044\u3002\u3082\u3057\u304b\u3057\u305f\u3089\u5f7c\u3089\u3092\u753a\u3067\u898b\u304b\u3051\u308b \u304b\u3082\u3057\u308c\u307e\u305b\u3093\u3002\u3082\u3057\u898b\u3064\u3051\u305f\u3089\u9023\u7d61\u3057\u3066\u304f\u3060\u3055\u3044\u3002\u304a\u9858\u3044\u3057\u307e\u3059\u3002<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.savetheboys.net\">http:\/\/www.savetheboys.net <\/a><\/p>\n<p>e-mail: Contact@savetheboys.net<\/p>\n<p>\u3082\u3057\u3042\u306a\u305f\u304c\u4eca\u3001\u3053\u306e\u65e5\u672c\u306e\u5bb6\u5ead\u88c1\u5224\u6240\u3084\u65e5\u672c\u56fd\u306b\u30a6\u30f3\u30b6\u30ea\u3057\u3066\u3044\u308b\u306e\u306a\u3089\u79c1\u306e\u5f1f \u9054\u304c\u5bb6\u306b\u623b\u308c\u308b\u3088\u3046\u306b\u63a2\u3059\u4e8b\u3067\u79c1\u9054\u306b\u529b\u3092\u8cb8\u3057\u3066\u304f\u3060\u3055\u3044\u3002\u304a\u9858\u3044\u3057\u307e\u3059\u3002<\/p>\n<p>\u3042\u306a\u305f\u304c\u79c1\u9054\u3092\u52a9\u3051\u3089\u308c\u307e\u3059\u3002\u79c1\u9054\u306f\u3042\u306a\u305f\u306e\u52a9\u3051\u304c\u5fc5\u8981\u3067\u3059\u3002<\/p>\n<p>\u304a\u9858\u3044\u3057\u307e\u3059\u3002\u3069\u3046\u304b\u52a9\u3051\u3066\u304f\u3060\u3055\u3044\u3002<\/p>\n<p>(\u3053\u308c\u3092\u65e5\u672c\u306b\u4f4f\u3093\u3067\u3044\u308b\u4eba\u3001\u8ab0\u3067\u3082\u826f\u3044\u306e\u3067\u8ee2\u9001\u3057\u3066\u304f\u3060\u3055\u3044\u3002)<\/p>\n<p>ENDS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Forwarding the below from a friend.  This is just another case of many where we have people (regardless of nationality, but thanks to the Koseki System NJ are in a particularly weak situation, particularly regarding international child abduction) doing awful things to their children after divorce simply because they can, and the authorities will do little or nothing to stop it.  I have of course written on the subject of divorce and post-divorce before (here and here, for example), but let me say at this juncture that for me it has gotten much, much worse over the past few years.  (I still myself have seen my kids maybe six times over the past six years, but now there is a development that someday I&#8217;ll tell you about, when I have drawn some conclusions and have some lessons from it.)<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, I&#8217;ve said it before and I&#8217;ll say it again because it is a harsh reality:<\/p>\n<p>As Japan&#8217;s Family Laws stand now, nobody &#8212; regardless of nationality &#8212; should get married to a Japanese and have kids.  Because if you divorce &#8212; or even separate &#8212; somebody will quite likely lose them completely.<\/p>\n<p>Read on for yet another example of that.  Even more examples and case studies at the Japan Children&#8217;s Rights Network here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,37,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-child-abductions","category-injustice","category-8"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7199"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7199\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}