Foreign parents fight in vain for custody in Japan
Emmanuel, Stephane, Henrik and James come from very different backgrounds, but they share the same painful experience of battling Japan's legal system - in vain - for access to their children after divorce.
Although Japan has signed the Hague Convention designed to prevent a parent from moving a child to another country and blocking access for the former partner, Tokyo demonstrates "a pattern of noncompliance" with the pact, according to the US State Department.
For foreign parents, most often fathers, "this poses major problems, because they have a different mentality and they can't comprehend losing custody or the right to visit their child", said Nahoko Amemiya, a lawyer for the Tokyo Public Law office.
Even when foreign parents win their case in a Japanese court, enforcement is patchy.
The State Department's 2018 report described "limitations" in Japanese law including requirements that "direct enforcement take place in the home and presence of the taking parent, that the child willingly leave the taking parent, and that the child face no risk of psychological harm".
With opinion divided on what causes the most trauma to children, the longer a child is separated from one parent, the more reluctant the authorities are to intervene, citing a "principle of continuity".
"It's not that Japanese courts favour the Japanese parent, it's that they favour the 'kidnapper'," who is living with the child, said John Gomez, founder of the group Kizuna, which advocates for parents separated from their children.
Frenchman Emmanuel de Fournas has spent years battling for access to his daughter after his Japanese ex-wife moved back to Japan.
Despite winning a court order in France and filing a case under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction in September 2014, he is still fighting for the right to see his daughter.
"I thought I could benefit from the clear rules of the Hague Convention, but... they aren't respected in Japan," he told AFP.
"I've lost everything, my savings, my job," he said tearfully.
His experience is not unusual.
Henrik Teton from Canada and James Cook from the United States have similar stories to tell.
"What kind of justice system is it if decisions are not implemented? There is room to do more and better," says Richard Yung, a French senator who came to Japan to plead the cases of several French parents.
Although Japan has signed the Hague Convention designed to prevent a parent from moving a child to another country and blocking access for the former partner, Tokyo demonstrates "a pattern of noncompliance" with the pact, according to the US State Department.
For foreign parents, most often fathers, "this poses major problems, because they have a different mentality and they can't comprehend losing custody or the right to visit their child", said Nahoko Amemiya, a lawyer for the Tokyo Public Law office.
Even when foreign parents win their case in a Japanese court, enforcement is patchy.
The State Department's 2018 report described "limitations" in Japanese law including requirements that "direct enforcement take place in the home and presence of the taking parent, that the child willingly leave the taking parent, and that the child face no risk of psychological harm".
With opinion divided on what causes the most trauma to children, the longer a child is separated from one parent, the more reluctant the authorities are to intervene, citing a "principle of continuity".
"It's not that Japanese courts favour the Japanese parent, it's that they favour the 'kidnapper'," who is living with the child, said John Gomez, founder of the group Kizuna, which advocates for parents separated from their children.
NHK - Nov 25
A Japanese government panel has proposed changes to a program for on-the-job training of foreign workers after the initiative was cited for labor abuses.
Dogen - Nov 24
Learn Japanese pitch-accent and pronunciation from my Patreon Series "Japanese Phonetics"
Watercolor by Shibasaki - Nov 22
This is Shibasaki, a painting instructor. Today I would like to draw a cute little squirrel with crayon. You are also welcome to try drawing while watching the video.
NHK - Nov 21
Japan has begun holding exams for foreign workers whose job types have been newly added to the list of fields that are eligible to get the country's Category 2 residence status.
News On Japan - Nov 20
A video discussing false molestation accusations ("chikan enzai") has been resonating on social media, coinciding with the introduction of a men-only carriage.
News On Japan - Nov 18
The sudden shutdown of Hoyu, a company managing school lunch programs, in September has had widespread effects, as school meal providers nationwide face critical losses.
Nikkei - Nov 17
Foreign workers in a new international trainee program that Japan plans to launch may be able to switch jobs after up to two years, according to a new proposal published by an expert government panel Wednesday.
nbcnews.com - Nov 16
Behind the barbed wire, the little boy pressed his ink-covered index finger onto the mint-green exit card. And a photograph was snapped of his frightened face.
News On Japan - Nov 14
A proposal to raise the rate of childcare leave benefits from the current 80% to 100% of take-home income would require both parents to take at least 14 days off, according to Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
News On Japan - Nov 12
A 48-year-old man who runs a tutoring school in Osaka has been arrested and charged for swindling 8.5 million yen in cash from a student's mother under the pretext of investment funds.
ROME REPORTS in English - Nov 12
Professor Saho Matsumoto says that the Vatican's diplomatic intervention saved many World War II Japanese prisoners.
Japanese natural beekeeping - Nov 12
Join us on an unexpected journey as we tackle a daring removal of a hornet's nest from our backyard. But what comes next is even more astonishing – we transform this potential danger into a unique dining experience for our flock of silkies!
NHK - Nov 09
Japanese Major League baseball star Ohtani Shohei says he plans to donate 60,000 gloves to elementary schools across Japan.
TAKASHii from Japan - Nov 06
Meet Kazu, a Japanese polyglot who speaks countless languages.
Sora The Troll - Nov 04
Japan VS Countries in Anime Style
medievalists.net - Nov 04
Time, a seemingly universal dimension, reveals its diverse facets across societies, historical epochs, and cultural contexts. The research project TIMEJ at the University of Zurich presents a fresh perspective on time in Medieval Japan, a concept far from unified.