 "The Canadian father is far from alone in trying to navigate a seemingly impenetrable and hostile Japanese system sometimes described as a black hole for children."
Tim Terstege, Kris Morness, and Bruce Gherbetti are among the parents who continue to try to reunite with their kidnapped children. Rep. Jeff Clawson at a Congressional hearing on International Parental Child Abduction declares, "We could solve kidnapped children tomorrow. One executive order. Give our kids back or you don't get to sell your cars over here. Give our kids back or you don't get to sell your software over here."  EVER SINCE his ex-wife wrongly took his son, now 11, to Japan five years ago, Jeffery Morehouse has been fighting for the boy’s return. Mr. Morehouse had been recognized as the sole custodial parent in Washington state, and a Japanese court affirmed that the ruling applies in Japan. Nonetheless, there has been no reunion, no visits, no contact of any sort.
 On July 16, 2015 Bring Abducted Children Home Managing Director Randy Collins testified to Congress on his case and the ongoing kidnapping crisis with Japan. "Quite frankly, State’s actions, or this case inaction, speak so loudly we can’t hear what they’re saying. I’d like this committee to insist that OCI and the State Department be far more transparent with Congress and with victimized parents. We deserve answers. Simply telling this committee that they are raising our cases means nothing. What are they saying? Who are they saying it to? What are the answers they are receiving? Are they demanding the return of our children or simply begging? Do they drop the issue just because Japan tells them it’s too difficult to return our kidnapped children? We have suffered years of secrecy from State regarding our abducted children. It’s the perfect definition of insanity, doing the same things over and over again but expecting a different result. The results haven’t changed in my seven years. We are still no closer to seeing our children today than we were before Japan joined The Hague Abduction Convention," said Collins whose son, Keisuke Collins, was kidnapped by his ex-wife to Japan in June 2008. Ambassador Susan Jacobs, Special Advisor to the Secretary for Children's Issues testifies that Brazil, India and Japan are the worst offenders of International Parental Child Abduction.  The following article originally appeared in the July 2015 Nashville Bar Journal.
It’s author, Dr. Amy Savoie, is a licensed Tennessee attorney and a registered patent attorney with the USPTO. She holds a Ph.D. from Dartmouth and her pro bono and consulting practices are focused on parental child abduction and children’s human rights issues.  A new law was supposed to enlist the State Department in helping to bring the kids back, but Tokyo has talked its way out of cooperating.
 On June 11, 2015 attorney and Bring Abducted Children Home co-founder, Christopher Savoie, testified to Congress on his case and the ongoing kidnapping crisis with Japan. "The elephant in the room is the inherent conflict of interest problem for the State Department in these abduction cases. Their primary mandate, as they see it, is to maintain good relations with strategic allies such as Japan. And this is in direct conflict with the interests of our children and the children of Japan, whose advocacy would require that the State Department to publicly shame and reprimand Japan for its complicity in these kidnappings and for its truly barbaric sole parental rights regime. A regime that violates some of the most basic human rights of parents and children alike."  The following article originally appeared in the May 2015 Nashville Bar Journal.
It’s author, Dr. Amy Savoie, is a licensed Tennessee attorney and a registered patent attorney with the USPTO. She holds a Ph.D. from Dartmouth and her pro bono and consulting practices are focused on parental child abduction and children’s human rights issues. 
 Kaoru Magosaki, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
ABC News Radio’s Eleni Psaltis presents Japan In Focus, a new program that takes a close look at significant political and cultural developments in Japan. On the April 13, 2015 broadcast she speaks with Director of the Hague Convention Division at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kaoru Magosaki. During the interview he admits that Japan “cannot enforce any sort of access.”
Bring Abducted Children Home’s Managing Director, Randy Collins interviewed on KPSU’s Fathers, Mothers, and Families.
 April 1, 2015 was a significant day in the Parental Abduction issue with Japan. One year ago Japan signed on to, and became a member of, The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. It was the last G-8 nation to do so. Last year, on March 31st, (April 1 in Japan) dozens of parents along with Congressman Smith and his staff walked arm in arm from an office building in Washington, DC, past The White House and finished at the State Department to deliver thirty Hague Article 21 applications which demanded access to our kidnapped children currently being held in Japan. We wasted no time to exercise our rights as outlined in The Hague Abduction Convention treaty.
 On March 25, 2015 Bring Abducted Children Home Executive Director Jeffery Morehouse testified to Congress on his case and the ongoing kidnapping crisis with Japan. “Now is the time for Japan to demonstrate they are serious about changing course on the ongoing crisis of International Parental Child Abduction,” said Morehouse whose son was kidnapped to Japan his ex-wife in June 2010. “I am hear to ask Congress to tell the Prime Minister it is not acceptable to continue to hold my son, “Mochi” Atomu Imoto Morehouse or any of the 400 U.S. children kidnapped to Japan.“ Rep. Christopher Smith (NJ-4) to Secretary of State John Kerry, "Japan has been breathtakingly unresponsive especially to abductions that occurred prior to ratification of the Hague (Abduction) Convention."  Football Party Fundraiser in Seattle for Bring Abducted Children Home (bachome.org)!
Free admission & drink specials. 21 and over only. Come have fun watching the Seattle Seahawks vs. the Philadelphia Eagles at Bleachers Pub (8118 Greenwood Ave N., Seattle, WA 98103) Raffle, Football Pool, and Silent Auction to benefit Bring Abducted Children Home. Can’t make it but want to help? Please make a tax-deductible donation or do The BAC Home Challenge: The Walk For Freedom!  Jeffery Morehouse speaks about his son’s kidnapping to Japan and International Parental Child Abduction at the 2014 Parents Equality Rally at the Washington State Legislature Building. Dear Gunnar and Kianna:
I love you very much and I miss you very much. This week I participate in more events in Washington DC in order to gain access to you. We have been apart for far too long. I wish I knew where you lived. I just don’t know. If I knew your number I would call you right now.  On March 31, 2014 at 9:00 AM, BAC Home leadership, parents, and supporters will come together in Washington, D.C. to hand deliver an estimated 35 Hague Article 21 Access Applications to the U.S. Department of State. This will be followed by a ceremonious march to the Embassy of Japan where we have requested to meet with Ambassador Sasae.
The day’s events coincide with Japan implementation of The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction on April 1, 2014. No provisions, however, have been made to directly address the 400 cases of U.S. children kidnapped to Japan since 1994.  On April 1, 2014 Japan is expected to implement The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. No provisions have been made to directly address the 400 cases of U.S. children kidnapped to Japan since 1994. At 9AM on March 31, 2014, BAC Home leadership, parents, and supporters will come together in Washington, D.C. to hand deliver an estimated 35 Hague Article 21 Access Applications to the U.S. Department of State. This will be followed by a ceremonious march to the Embassy of Japan where they have requested to meet with Ambassador Sasae.  CNN has agreed to cover the events.
Anyone interested in joining in support is asked to email bachome@bachome.org Bring Abducted Children Home is dedicated to the immediate return of internationally abducted children who are being wrongfully detained in Japan. We also strive to end Japan’s human rights violation of denying children unfettered access to both parents.
At her confirmation hearing to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy, gives her commitment to promote and protect the welfare of U.S. citizens in Japan. During the hearing she is asked by Senator Ben Cardin if she will use her position to help resolve the almost 400 American cases that will not be covered under The Hague Abduction Convention. Ms. Kennedy states that as a parent she understands the emotional aspects of this issue and that she has already indicated her concerns to Bureau of Consular Affairs in a meeting in advance of the hearing.  Parents of Internationally Kidnapped Children and supporters gathered to deliver letters addressed to the Prime Minister of Japan to consulate officials at an event near Seattle. There was one letter for each of the 74 cases listed on the Bring Abducted Children Home website. They outlined Japan’s violations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and obligation to address the kidnapping and retention of children. This was the Government of Japan’s response to our kidnapped children…  Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representative’s held another hearing on International Parental Child Abduction. Substantive portions of the hearing focused on the Japan abduction crisis with Members of Congress calling for stronger action to return kidnapped children.
We are extremely concerned about the direction of the implementing legislation in the Japanese Diet. This is an intentional effort by ruling parties to create loopholes that will all but ensure that no child abducted in the future will be returned to their country of habitual residence. Additionally, Japan has continued to fail to address the current cases or provide aid or assistance in providing information on where children kidnapped from the U.S. and other countries are being held. |
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