{"id":9402,"date":"2011-09-25T02:02:49","date_gmt":"2011-09-24T17:02:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=9402"},"modified":"2011-09-25T02:03:26","modified_gmt":"2011-09-24T17:03:26","slug":"patrick-mcpike-on-usgs-underestimated-numbers-re-japans-abducted-children-only-about-2-6-of-j-kids-see-both-parents-after-divorce-plus-online-petition-to-obama-admin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=9402","title":{"rendered":"Patrick McPike on USG&#8217;s underestimated numbers re Japan&#8217;s abducted children (only about 2.6% of J kids see both parents after divorce), plus online petition to Obama Admin"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_8577\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8577\" style=\"width: 149px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/inappropriatecoverthumb150x226.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-8577\" title=\"inappropriatecoverthumb150x226\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/inappropriatecoverthumb150x226.jpg\" alt=\"IN APPROPRIATE, A novel of culture, kidnapping, and revenge in modern Japan, By ARUDOU Debito\" width=\"149\" height=\"226\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8577\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">New novel IN APPROPRIATE, on child abductions in Japan, by ARUDOU Debito<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<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\/tshirts.html\"><img 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=\"\\&quot; width=\" height=\"100\" \/><\/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><\/p>\n<p>Hi Blog. \u00a0Dovetailing with the current thread on Child Abductions in Japan, here is an argument made by Patrick McPike that the US State Department is grossly underestimating the numbers of children abducted from one parent following separation and\/or divorce in Japan. \u00a0Read on. \u00a0The most staggering statistic is, &#8220;<em><strong>only about 2.6% of the 245,000 children affected by divorce [in Japan] will be allowed visitation&#8221;<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0with their second parent. \u00a0That&#8217;s unhealthy for a society as a whole, to say the least. \u00a0Arudou Debito<\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<h1>Child Abduction in Japan\u2026 The REAL Numbers \u2013 part 1.<\/h1>\n<div><strong>Posted on\u00a0<a title=\"10:26 pm\" href=\"http:\/\/letterstomysons.com\/2011\/09\/01\/child-abduction-in-japan-the-real-numbers-part-1\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">September 1, 2011<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0<a title=\"View all posts by pmcpike\" href=\"http:\/\/letterstomysons.com\/author\/pmcpike\/\">pmcpike<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><strong>Courtesy\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/letterstomysons.com\/2011\/09\/01\/child-abduction-in-japan-the-real-numbers-part-1\/\">http:\/\/letterstomysons.com\/2011\/09\/01\/child-abduction-in-japan-the-real-numbers-part-1\/<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>(excerpt)<\/p>\n<p><em>Unfortunately, child abduction in Japan is a major epidemic. Equally unfortunate is the fact that so few people are aware if it. Part of the reason for this could be the fact that the \u201cofficial numbers\u201d reported by the US Department of State are so wrong \u2013 and they know it.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><a title=\"U.S. Department of State page - International Parental Child Abduction Japan\" href=\"http:\/\/travel.state.gov\/abduction\/country\/country_501.html\" target=\"_blank\">According to the US Department of State<\/a>\u00a0[DoS], the current number of cases are as follows:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>Since\u00a0 1994, the Office of Children\u2019s Issues has opened\u00a0 230 cases involving 321 children abducted to or wrongfully retained in Japan.<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>As of January 7, 2011, the Office of Children\u2019s Issues has\u00a0 100 active cases involving 140 children.<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo reports an additional 31 cases in which both parents and the child(ren) reside\u00a0 in Japan but one parent has been denied access to the child(ren).<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>The DoS further\u00a0acknowledges on\u00a0<a title=\"U.S. Department of State page - International Parental Child Abduction Japan\" href=\"http:\/\/travel.state.gov\/abduction\/country\/country_501.html\" target=\"_blank\">their website<\/a>\u00a0that, \u201cTo date, the Office of Children\u2019s Issues does not have a record of any cases resolved through a favorable Japanese court order or through the assistance of the Japanese government.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>So question number 1 that arises: What is behind the missing 130 cases?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Wait, did you catch that? \u00a0DoS has\u00a0<strong>admitted<\/strong>\u00a0to opening 230 cases. \u00a0Has acknowledged that Japan has never returned any children. \u00a0But somehow only has 100 active cases. \u00a0We will get back to this\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Another interesting \u201cofficial number\u201d is 31. \u00a0The number of cases \u201cacknowledged\u201d by the Department of State, where the foreign parent is being denied access to their child after\u00a0separation\u00a0or divorce has\u00a0occurred\u00a0within Japan. \u00a0This number, frankly, is just completely shameful.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Based on research done by both Law Professors in Japan and by Left-Behind Parents, we know that these cases number into the thousands.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>In the\u00a0<a title=\"English Translation by Matthew J. McCauley of Paper written by Professor Takao Tanase\" href=\"https:\/\/digital.lib.washington.edu\/dspace-law\/bitstream\/handle\/1773.1\/1028\/20PacRimLPolyJ563.pdf?sequence=4\" target=\"_blank\">english translation<\/a>\u00a0(Translation by Matthew J. McCauley of University of\u00a0Washington\u2019s Law School) of a\u00a0<a title=\"Japanese Opinion Paper on Japan's updated family law system - written by Professor Tanase\" href=\"http:\/\/minpoukaisei.up.seesaa.net\/image\/CEBEBFC6A4CECEA5BAA7A4C8BBD2A4C9A4E2A4CEBAC7C1B1A4CECDF8B1D7.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">paper written by Professor Tanase in 2009<\/a>\u00a0 (<a title=\"US Department of State page - International Parental Child Abduction Japan - Provides link to D.o.S funded paper written by Professor Tanase\" href=\"http:\/\/travel.state.gov\/abduction\/country\/country_5227.html\" target=\"_blank\">who has also been used as a consultant by DoS<\/a>) he\u00a0states, using statistics provided by various Japanese sources, that:<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>\u201c\u00a0<\/strong>Over 251,000 married couples separated in 2008, and if this number is divided by the 726,000 marriages in the same year, roughly one out of every 2.9 marriages will end in divorce. Out of all divorcing couples, 144,000 have children, equaling about 245,000 children in all. Seeing as roughly 1.09 million children were born this year, about one out of every 4.5 children will experience divorce before reaching adulthood. Even with the increase in visitation awards,\u00a0<strong>only about 2.6% of the 245,000 children affected by divorce [in Japan] will be allowed visitation. \u201c<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>To simplify it: \u00a0Out of\u00a0<strong>245,000 children<\/strong>\u00a0who\u2019s parent\u2019s are divorced in Japan\u00a0<strong>ONLY<\/strong>about\u00a0<strong>6300 children<\/strong>\u00a0will be allowed to maintain some level of contact with their \u201cnon-custodial parent\u201d (We\u2019ll get back to how custody is determined). \u00a0The remaining 238,700 children have one parent\u00a0ceremoniously\u00a0cut completely and suddenly from their life \u2013 often being punished, either emotionally or physically, by the \u201ccustodial parent\u201d if they ask to continue to see the removed parent.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>In addition, based on statistics provided by the Japanese\u00a0Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare (and gathered by Left-Behind Parent: John Gomez):<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>From 1992 to 2009, there have been\u00a07,449\u00a0divorces between an American and a Japanese in Japan.<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Of those Americans, 6,208 were men, and 1,241 were women.<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><em>According to the statistics,\u00a0there is, on average, one child per\u00a0divorce\u00a0in Japan<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>So when you take 7,449 divorces (each with an average of 1 child based on the above statistics) and use Professor Tanase\u2019s 2.6% estimate (which should be expected to be higher than would actually apply to foreign parents), that leaves you with approximately 7,255 children of US citizens (just counting data up to 2009) that are being denied access to their US parent.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>On top of that there are\u00a0at least\u00a0four \u201cX-factors\u201d:&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Read the rest of the site at:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/letterstomysons.com\/2011\/09\/01\/child-abduction-in-japan-the-real-numbers-part-1\/\">http:\/\/letterstomysons.com\/2011\/09\/01\/child-abduction-in-japan-the-real-numbers-part-1\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>From: Patrick McPike <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Subject: White House Petition Regarding Japan and International Child Abduction<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> Date: September 22, 2011<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>I just started a petition on the White House Petitions site, We the People.<\/em><br \/>\n<em> Will you sign it? <a href=\"http:\/\/wh.gov\/gKV\">http:\/\/wh.gov\/gKV<\/a> And then share it?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>WE PETITION THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>PUBLICLY press Japan for the return of Abducted US Children and provide transparent dialogs with Japan on this issue.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Hundreds, if not thousands (Child Abduction in Japan\u2026 The REAL Numbers \u2013 <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/pteCAe \">http:\/\/bit.ly\/pteCAe <\/a>), of US Citizen Children have been abducted to, or retained in, the country of Japan.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Japan has never returned a single child, has no legal concept of &#8220;joint-custody&#8221;, no enforcement of visitation, no requirement for rules of evidence on claims of DV.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>The US Congress, in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?s=HR+1326\">HR1326<\/a>, has publicly condemned Japan and demanded the immediate return of this children.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>However, the Executive Branch has only held back-room discussions. Additionally, there are persuasive claims the DoS is significantly downplaying the number of actual cases.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>There needs to be complete transparency into this process, and public condemnation of Japan. These are our country&#8217;s children. We the people deserve to know if they are being traded for bases or other government goals.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Go to:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/wh.gov\/gKV\">http:\/\/wh.gov\/gKV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>ENDS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>McPike:  Based on research done by both Law Professors in Japan and by Left-Behind Parents, we know that these cases [of abducted children in Japan with American citizenship] number into the thousands.<\/p>\n<p>In the english translation (Translation by Matthew J. McCauley of University of Washington\u2019s Law School) of a paper written by Professor Tanase in 2009  (who has also been used as a consultant by DoS) he states, using statistics provided by various Japanese sources, that:<\/p>\n<p>\u201c Over 251,000 married couples separated in 2008, and if this number is divided by the 726,000 marriages in the same year, roughly one out of every 2.9 marriages will end in divorce. Out of all divorcing couples, 144,000 have children, equaling about 245,000 children in all. Seeing as roughly 1.09 million children were born this year, about one out of every 4.5 children will experience divorce before reaching adulthood. Even with the increase in visitation awards, only about 2.6% of the 245,000 children affected by divorce [in Japan] will be allowed visitation. \u201c<\/p>\n<p>To simplify it:  Out of 245,000 children who\u2019s parent\u2019s are divorced in Japan ONLYabout 6300 children will be allowed to maintain some level of contact with their \u201cnon-custodial parent\u201d (We\u2019ll get back to how custody is determined).  The remaining 238,700 children have one parent ceremoniously cut completely and suddenly from their life \u2013 often being punished, either emotionally or physically, by the \u201ccustodial parent\u201d if they ask to continue to see the removed parent.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, based on statistics provided by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare (and gathered by Left-Behind Parent: John Gomez):<\/p>\n<p>From 1992 to 2009, there have been 7,449 divorces between an American and a Japanese in Japan.<br \/>\nOf those Americans, 6,208 were men, and 1,241 were women.<br \/>\nAccording to the statistics, there is, on average, one child per divorce in Japan<\/p>\n<p>So when you take 7,449 divorces (each with an average of 1 child based on the above statistics) and use Professor Tanase\u2019s 2.6% estimate (which should be expected to be higher than would actually apply to foreign parents), that leaves you with approximately 7,255 children of US citizens (just counting data up to 2009) that are being denied access to their US parent&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,28,36,49,50,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pinprick-protests","category-anti-discrimination-templates","category-bad-social-science","category-child-abductions","category-gaiatsu","category-human-rights"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9402","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=9402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9402\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}