By Simon Scott

On April 3 last year Alex Kahney’s wife, Keiko Ono, took their two daughters, Selene, 9, and Cale, 7, and abruptly moved out of the family home in the Denenchofu, the up-market Tokyo suburb where they had lived for more than seven years.

Naturally Alex, who works as a medical researcher and writer, was worried about getting access to his children, but his wife reassured him it would not be a problem.

“She said to me: ‘Don’t worry, you will always be able to see them’.”

But the following Friday his wife cancelled a camping trip he had arranged to go on with his daughters and after she failed to telephone on the Sunday as promised to arrange a visit with the kids that day, Alex become worried.

From the U.S. Department of Justice, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section

Title 18, Section 1204 of the United States Code makes it a federal crime to remove a child from the United States or retain a child outside the United States with the intent to obstruct a parent’s custodial rights, or to attempt to do so. See 18 U.S.C. § 1204. This crime is punishable by up to three years in prison. The law provides a defense where the taking parent acted pursuant to a valid court order obtained under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act, or where the taking parent was fleeing domestic violence, or where the failure to return the child resulted from circumstances beyond the taking parent’s control and the taking parent made reasonable efforts to notify the left behind parent within 24 hours and returned the child as soon as possible.

In order for an individual to file a complaint with the United Nations’ five human rights treaty bodies, their home nation must have ratified the optional protocols to the treaties which they have signed and ratified. Left-behind parents of children abducted to Japan (and also left-behind Japanese parents whose own family law system has excluded them from their children’s lives) would have an opportunity, as individuals, to file complaints with the UN regarding their human rights (and those of their children), if Japan would ratify the first optional protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

A young Iraq War veteran is in the fight of his life against his ex-wife to bring his children home.

Michael Elias, who is now a Bergen County sheriff, claims his wife kidnapped their two young children and took them to Japan.

We petition the Obama administration to:
PUBLICLY press Japan for the return of Abducted U.S. Children and provide transparent dialogue with Japan on this issue.
• AN ESTIMATED 10,0000 U.S. CHILDREN HAVE BEEN ABDUCTED TO OR RETAINED IN JAPAN.
• JAPAN HAS NEVER RETURNED AN ABDUCTED CHILD.

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The Justice Ministry proposed Friday that children's opinions be reflected when settling cross-border child custody disputes.

The idea was contained in the ministry's draft interim proposals for domestic legislation that it is preparing for submission to a regular Diet session next year, before Japan joins an international pact related to the matter known as the Hague Convention.