Background:

Kaia was born in Sumoto, Hyogo, Japan, on February 6, 2010. It was the happiest day of Ray’s life, and he felt like the luckiest daddy in the world. As he held her in his hands for the first time, he sensed a bond unlike any he had ever felt, and he knew he and his little girl would be “best friends forever.”

By that time, however, Ray had grown weary of life in Japan, especially of the depressed conditions in Awaji City (where he lived with his wife, Kayo Okuno, and her father, Nobuyuki Okuno). Jobs were scarce — and almost nonexistent for gaijin, as prejudice was common. The area was often choked with pollution, both airborne and seaborne. Due to the city’s declining population, many of the elementary schools had closed, and the remaining ones were overcrowded. So Ray decided it would be best for Kaia to grow up in the U.S. (where he and Kayo had met), and he proposed that they move back there by the end of the year. However, Kayo rejected the idea. During the next several months Ray continued to urge Kayo to move with him and Kaia back to the States, but she staunchly refused and became increasingly possessive of Kaia.

On November 5, 2010, Kayo told Ray that they were “going to the bank.” Ray was riding in the back seat of the car next to Kaia. (They were playing, and Kaia was laughing hysterically.) But instead of going to the bank, Kayo drove to a police station. Ray was escorted inside and seated in a small room, without Kaia present, where Kayo handed a form to him and said that she was divorcing him. Ray was forced to sign the divorce agreement even though he couldn’t understand it, as it was written in kanji. He was then taken to a hotel. The next morning Kayo told him via telephone that he wouldn’t be allowed to return to her father’s house, and that he should leave the country immediately, without any of his belongings. This turned out to be untrue, as her father permitted him to come inside long enough to pack a couple of bags.

While he lived overseas Ray was greeted every morning by his daughter’s beautiful smiling face (she was always so excited to see him), and he never went to bed before kissing her “oyasumi” (“good night”). He hasn’t yet learned how to start and end his day without her, and he doesn’t think he ever will. Every agonizing day that goes by that Kaia and Ray are apart is a day they’ll never get back, and there have already been too many of those to bear.

Japan is a haven for international child abduction. Not once has Japan ever returned a single abducted child. Once children enter Japan they never return, making it a black hole. Currently over 321 children have been stolen off American soil and abducted to Japan.