This was sent to me by my daughter Rion (via her mother) when Rion was 5 years old. Every summer from 2005-2009, Taiko and the girls would go to Japan for 5 weeks to visit their Japanese family while I remained home working. These summer visits were hard for me because I missed my daughters so much when they were gone, but I felt it was important that they know their Japanese heritage and visit with their Japanese family. I would speak to them every day while they were away. Sometimes I would receive emails like this one:

Dear Mochi,

Another birthday approaches. I thought you would be home by now, but you are not. You are still missing.

In your room, I see your toys. They call to me. The Lego’s you love so much, waiting for you to bring them to life again. The books I read to you and you had just started to read to me, before your mother kidnapped you from the only world you had known.

Since my children were abducted to Japan two years ago, I have learned to live with a new normal. Very few things in my life are the same now that I don't have access to my children. I went from playing with Gunnar and Kianna or teaching them about life, to wondering how they are doing without a loving father in their life. Virtually no aspect of my daily life is the same anymore, nor do I expect it to return to the old normal.

Take for instance answering a simple question like ‘Do you have kids’.  This no longer requires a simple answer and often leads into a very long discussion about Japanese child abductions.  I guess I can answer ‘no’ and live with the guilt of denial.  I really don't want to talk about child abduction. I want to talk about how my kids are doing in school, what they dressed up as for Halloween, or brag about how good they are at soccer.

On Tuesday, November 2nd, 2011, Daddy and 8 others members of two non profit organizations (Left Behind Parents Japan and Asian People’s Friendship Society) met with a Diet member (Congressman / Member of Parliament). Wet met with Mr. Hakubun Shimomura for forty five minutes. We demanded that Japan enact legislation for joint custody in Japan. Mr. Shimomura listened attentively to everything we had to say. Daddy took a framed picture of you three girls and showed it to him. When he asked daddy if I had a meishi (business card) I said, “NO, this is my meishi.” meaning the photo.

The other day I had another dream of my children.  I saw my son Gunnar, he ran up to me burying his head into my chest.  He didn't want to let go and neither did I.  Then Kianna ran up to me hugging me and giving me kisses.  Soon all three of us were crying.   The images of my children were vivid and seemed so real. We had so much to catch up on since it has been over two years when we last saw each other.  I was so happy to be reunited with my children again. Then suddenly I woke up and started really crying realizing it was just a mirage that faded away.  Sadly, I also become conscious at that moment that I will only see my kids in my dreams.

It is hard to imagine being separated from your children through abduction.  It is also hard to believe that one parent cares more about hurting their ex-spouse than they do about the welfare of their children.  These situations are so hard it is hard to comprehend.  Many people probably think that the left behind parent is a child abuser. However, if you delve into the details of the cases and study the situation, you will discover that the child abusers are in fact the abductors.  Here are a few logical facts to consider.

On June 13, 2008, a California Superior Court judge had ruled Reiko Nakata Greenberg Collins was a flight risk and ordered 5 year old Keisuke Christian Collins passport be turned over to the authorities.  On June 16, 2008, just one day after Randy and Keisuke spent Father’s Day together, Reiko violated these court orders and abducted him to Japan. Randy was devastated when he learned his only child, Keisuke Christian Collins, had been illegally abducted by his mother Reiko.  Being a retired pilot with Japan Air Lines, Keisuke’s grandfather, Ken Nakata, is believed to be instrumental in assisting his daughter to avoid airport security measures to abduct Keisuke to Japan.

It has been over two years since I have last seen my children, my little buddy Gunnar and my little princess Kianna.  After all this time I still find it hard that to believe you were kidnapped from me by your mother to Japan.  She has caused me so much pain.  I so much wish to hold your hand and hug you once again.  I haven’t heard your voice since August of 2009.  I still have your last voicemail on my phone.  It makes me cry every time I hear it.  I still dream about you Gunnar and Kianna all the time.  I often have dreams where we are reunited and we get to spend time together.

Parental kidnappings do not garner the media attention and sense of urgency from law enforcement that they deserve. Experts say there is a perception among the public and law enforcement officials that children kidnapped by their parents are not in danger. While it is true that statistics from the US department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile and Delinquency Protection indicate that only 4% of children abducted by their parents are physically harmed, can we so easily forget to consider the emotional toll it takes on these innocent victims.

By Randy Collins
Father of Keisuke Christian Collins
Illegally Abducted Off US Soil June 16, 2008

We have all seen the movies in which the Japanese portray themselves as honorable and respectable.  This façade has been as blatantly phony as the myth of Little Green Men attacking the earth from the movie and radio scare of, War of the Worlds.  In the old radio show, Orson Wells was able to convince many people that aliens had invaded the World.  This created such a scare that many people believed it to be true.

Dear Rion, Lauren and Julia,

It has been sixteen days since the earthquake and tsunami. I have worked non stop to try and make contact with you over these days, to no avail.

I have thought about you, my beautiful daughters, every day since your mother took you away. And, for the last 16 days I have thought of nothing else. I am worried about you, my precious little girls. You are still a little too young to appreciate the danger of radiation from the nuclear reactor melting down just 40km away. Your mother should have taken you south now, if she has the right information.

By Randy Collins
Father of Keisuke Christian Collins
Illegally Abducted June 16, 2008

As another year passes and begins, so does the continued heartbreak of not seeing or hearing from my son, Keisuke, again. Every day of every passing month is a different reminder of knowing my son is a statistic in the Black Hole of the Japanese Parental Abduction Abyss.

By Everett Thompson

In good faith, my ex-wife and I made a custody and visitation arrangement. Unbeknownst to me, their residency in Tokyo made it convenient for her to keep me from seeing our daughter.

My ex-wife, Tomoko, and I met in 1991 in Tokyo, where I was working as an engineer. We married in 1995 in Portland, Oregon. Anna was born in January 1999 in San Diego. Anna was a happy, joyful baby. She was also very smart for her age, but most parents say that!

In 2006, Chris Gulbraa rode his bike from his home, where he lived with his mother and his brother in Kasugai, Japan. The 15-year-old was going to the airport and he had no intention of ever returning.

Five years earlier, his mother had fled to Japan from the US, essentially kidnapping Chris and his brother during a custody battle. The father, Mike Gulbraa, had run out of options because Japan doesn’t recognize parental rights if they’re non-nationals. But then Mike received a text message from Chris saying he wanted to come home. 

Escaping to dad
After one failed attempt to escape Japan, Chris was under close scrutiny by his mother who’d fled the US with him over a custody battle. But he soon tried again to get back to his dad in the US. At one point, he was stopped at airport customs before boarding his plane. He texted his dad for help. The plan worked, and father and son are now reunited.

By Ken Connelly

As many of you know, my heart and soul lay in the intertwined fabric of Parental Child Abduction. Due to the lack of hours in a day, I am not one to throw myself like the wind to every group in parental child abduction. This past week, I was honored to participate with a number of left-behind parents in Washington D.C. This particular group struck a very deep and real emotion in me, one I have often ignored or have not allowed myself to feel.

Michael C. Gulbraa had two sons Michael K. & Christopher R. Gulbraa that were abducted by their US-citizen mother and US-citizen stepfather to Japan in November 2001. His statement was submitted to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Hearings on International Child Abduction.