How many U.S. children have been kidnapped to Japan?
More than 500 since 1994 when the U.S. Department of State's Office of Children's Issue's (OCI) was established. Japan is internationally known as a black hole for child abduction.

Where does this 500+ figure come from?
It comes from data provided by the U.S. Department of State. Representative Chris Smith reported at the May 24, 2011 hearing in the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee, “Japan has by far the worst record of all. It has not issued and enforced the return order for a single one of the more than 321 American children abducted there since 1994, when the recordkeeping began.”[1]
​
321 was also the figure reported to us in our July 2011 meeting with OCI by then director Beth Payne along with then Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Kurt Campbell.

At this meeting we requested updated figures dating back to 1994. On August 25, 2011 parents of children kidnapped to Japan received a response stating, "As of August 19, 2011, that statistic is 268 cases involving 374 children."

In a hand delivered-letter to Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio following his address to the US Congress late last week, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) made a direct appeal to the Japanese leader to personally intervene and help return over 500 American children who have been abducted to Japan to their left-behind parents in the United States.

“As our two countries continue to take steps to strengthen our democratic, economic and security ties, I would like to draw your attention to an open wound that threatens to derail many ongoing efforts.” Smith wrote in his letter to Kishida. 

“To date, more than 500 American children have been abducted to Japan by one of their respective parents and remain separated from their American parent. These abductions often occur against pre-existing court orders and, in some cases, with the passport assistance of the Japanese government,” Smith said in the letter.

In his letter, Smith cited just a few of the parents who have been denied access to their children in Japan, including Jeffery Morehouse—who has been fighting for the return of his young son Mochi since 2010 and has testified at several congressional hearings chaired by Smith. Despite having legal custody in Washington State which was recognized by Japanese courts, Morehouse still cannot gain access to his son in Japan.

Other parents who have testified before Smith’s committee and who were named in his letter include Retired Navy Capt. Paul Toland, Former Marine Corps Sgt. Michael Elias, and Randy Collins of California.

“For the sake of the children who are suffering, and for the sake of U.S. and Japanese relations, I seek your public commitment to reunite these families,” Smith continued in the letter. “I respectfully request that you work with the United States to create a process by which families can be reunited and heal.”​

International child abductions by Japanese spouses has been a serious issue for a long time. Hear from a child perspective.​

By Irina Hasala
Journalist, newspaper Helsingin Sanomat | World news

(Japan) Thousands of children are taken out of reach of their other parent each year in Japan. Tapio Tarvas lost contact with his daughter. Jeffery Morehouse, an American, did not get his son back even by court order.

In 2008, Tapio Tarvas was waiting for his Japanese spouse and their baby to return to Finland. After weeks of silence, Tarvas received a message: she would stay with their daughter in Japan. Permanently.
 
"My ex-wife said she might come when the child was four or five. It was a mental breakdown for me." Tarvas only met his daughter again when she was 8 years old.
 
According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, a child should have contact with both parents after separation, unless it is harmful to the child.
 
However, in the case of Mr. Tarvas and thousands of Japanese couples, this agreement is not being honored. In Japan, it is estimated that more than 100,000 children lose contact with one of their parents every year.

Japan is known as the "black hole of child abduction”. But why does it keep happening? Hear the thoughts and experiences of several activists and experts.

For the second year in a row, international partners of the G7 Kidnapped to Japan Reunification Project wrote to representatives of the G7 countries in advance of the 45th G7 summit that will be held on August 24-26, 2019 in Biarritz, France. The international alliance is comprised of parents and organizations from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The immediate objective is to put the Japanese parental child abduction issue on the G7 Summit agenda and bring about a rapid resolution to this crisis affecting the human rights of thousands of children abducted to or within Japan.

Since the letter was sent on April 24, 2019, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte have made statements to the press on the abduction crisis to and within Japan. President Macron confirmed he has raised the issue with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. 

Congress United for Action: Strive to Return America’s Stolen Children
​U.S. Capitol, S-115

Formal Remarks
Members of Congress (Invited)
​
International Parental Child Abduction:  A Unifying Issue for Congress

Use the Tools 
Accountability and Returns Under the Goldman Act

International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act of 1993
Improving Victim Response and Charging Rates under federal IPKA statutes

Two Teen Survivors Share Their Experiences

Count Children, Not Cases
Affecting Data-Driven Solutions in the Departments of State and Justice
 
What American Families Need from Congress
Congressional Solutions through Casework, Legislation and Oversight
 
Speakers:
Dr. Noelle Hunter, mother of an American child abducted to Mali
Co-founder and President of iStand Parent Network and Coalition Partner
view written remarks

Ravi Parmar, father of an American child abducted to India
Co-founder of Bring Our Kids Home and Coalition Partner

Jerry Pfeifer, survivor of international parental child abduction
Leo Zagaris, survivor of international parental child abduction

Jeffery Morehouse, father of an American child abducted to Japan
Co-founder and Executive Director of Bring Abducted Children Home and Coalition Partner
view written remarks

Formal Remarks by Members of Congress:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell*
U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (by video provided to The Coalition)
U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein (in a statement read by her staff)*
U.S. Representative Chris Smith*
*not included in the briefing video

The Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan hosted a panel in Tokyo to discuss domestic and international parental child abduction. Topics included harm to the children, shortcomings in Japanese family law and how Japan's Continuity Principle ​is keeping children kidnapped. Panelists included:

• Mr. Akira Ueno, Attorney, Nihonbashi Sakura Law Firm
• Professor Noriko Odagiri, Professor of Clinical Psychology Tokyo International University
• Mr. Tommaso Perina, an Italian Father
• Mr.Vincent Fichot, a French Father

Addressing at the United Nations Human Rights Council this week Mr. Shunichi Fujiki of the International Career Support Association declared, "Parental child abductions are becoming a serious human rights violation in Japan."

"The abducted child is at the mercy of the abducting parent. The child can no longer go home and [is] forced to sever their relationship with the abandoned parent."

Children have the right to be loved by both parents. He continues, "In Japan many children are deprived of the basic rights because of the current system and crooked lawyers."

​Senate Resolution 431 (S.Res.431) will create a month of awareness of for the harm caused by international parental child abduction. It will lead to greater action to #EndInternationalParentalChildAbduction
Learn about the resolution here. 

Fathers of internationally kidnapped children speak on Father's Day.

U.S. Congressman Chris Smith provides an impassioned plea for the return of "Mochi" Atomu Imoto Morehouse and all children kidnapped to Japan by a parent. The video was released at a May 29, 2017 press conference in Tokyo by Jeffery Morehouse and attorney Akira Ueno at the Tokyo Courthouse. (full transcript in Japanese and English follows)

ジェフリーモアハウスは、2010年以来、彼の誘拐された息子、モチ君と再会すべく、粘り強く、思慮深く、努力し続けています。
 
国際的な人権を監督する公式な議会小委員会の議長として、私は、ジェフリー氏を議会に招待しました。彼に自らの話を議会で証言してもらうためです。彼の証言を聞いた私は、深く感動しました。彼とモチ君が、この悲痛な、そして非合法な引き離しの結果として味わっている苦痛、苦しみ－－その苦痛を知るにつけ、彼の息子に対する愛情がどれだけ並外れたものか分かります。
 
2015年にジェフリー氏が米国議会に報告したとおり、彼は2007年以来アメリカ合衆国においてモチ君の単独監護権を有しています。この事実はまた、2014年に日本の法廷でもまた合法なものとして認められています。にもかかわらず、彼の息子が日本政府によって彼のもとに戻されなかったことについて、私は衝撃を受けました。
 
彼がどれほどの苦痛を味わっているか、それは私の想像を超えるものでしょう。彼と会い、話を聞く度、私はそう感じます。彼は、モチ君が無事に帰ってくるために、精力的に努力し続けている愛情深い父です。
 
1994年以来、アメリカ合衆国から日本への親による誘拐事件は数百件あります。その中でもジェフリー氏のケースは、母親による重大な違法行為がある点で目を引きます。日本にとどまることが「子供の最善の福祉」であると主張することは間違いです。もちろん、それは誘拐された後で日本に行った場合でも、日本で誘拐があった場合でもです。親による子の連れ去りは、児童虐待です。そしてそれは、その状態が続く限り、日々進行し続けています。
 
日本は、人口の多い大国です。そして我が国の友人であり、重要な同盟国です。しかし、いかなる民主国家も、いかに立派な政府であっても、こうした犯罪行為を許し続けてはなりません。
 
2011年に、私は、日本に連れ去られた子供との再会をただただ願うたくさんのアメリカ人の親御さん方のために来日しました。私がお会いした日本側の官僚の方や政府高官の方は、こうした国際的な子の連れ去り引き離しが、子供と引き離された親の両方にとってどれだけ深い傷を残すかということについて、大いに賛同してくださいました。
 
日本が国際的な子の誘拐に関するハーグ条約にすでに署名していることは周知のとおりです。これは、こうした子供の誘拐事例をハーグ条約の精神に沿って適切に解決するという政府の意思の顕れです。
 
にもかかわらず、すでに数年前に裁判所での判断が出ているはずのモアハウス氏のケースは、いまだ解決できていません。父子の再会はできないままであり、日本における人権問題として取り上げられ続けています。
 
私は日本政府の友人たちに求めます。どうか、いまだ未解決の国際的な子供の誘拐問題について、決定的な措置を取ってください。どうか、モチ君を、愛情に満ちた父親の下に帰してあげてください。

Jeffery Morehouse has been tenaciously and thoughtfully trying to reunite with his kidnapped son, Mochi, since 2010.
 
As the chairman of the official congressional subcommittee that oversees international human rights, I invited Jeffery to testify before congress to tell his story.  I was deeply moved. The love he has for his son is extraordinary—as is the suffering and pain he and Mochi endure as a result of this heartbreaking and illegal separation.
 
As Jeffery reported to the US Congress in 2015, he has had sole custody in the United States since 2007. This fact was also recognized as legal by the courts in Japan in 2014.  Thus, it is shocking that his son has not been returned to him by the Japanese government.
 
I can't imagine the pain of this kind of separation, and I hear it in his words every time I see him, and that is often.  He is a loving father tirelessly trying and working for return of his son.
 
There have been hundreds of parental abductions from the U.S. to Japan since 1994.  Jeffery's case underscores a serious injustice.  It is false to claim that it is “in the best interest of the child” to remain in Japan—or anywhere after being kidnapped and taken there.  Child abduction is a daily, ongoing form of child abuse.
 
Japan is a great country with many great people.  It is a friend and important ally of the United States.  But, no democratic, honorable government should allow this type of criminal act to continue.
 
In 2011, I traveled to Japan on behalf of many American parents who simply wanted to be reunited with their children.  Japanese elected officials and government officials with whom I met, agree that the forced separation is deeply damaging—both for the child and the left behind parent. 
 
Japan as we all know has since signed the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction—signifying the government’s intention to properly resolving these child abduction cases.
 
But the Morehouse case, already adjudicated in the courts years ago, continues to raise troubling questions about Japan’s human rights’ record and its commitment to reuniting families. 

​And so I call on my friends in the Japanese government to please take decisive action in this and other pending international child abduction cases.  Please return Mochi to his loving father.

The Coalition to End International Parental Child Abduction met in The Roosevelt Room with White House staff close to the President and Ivanka Trump. "Being invited to The White House to discuss policy changes necessary with countries like Japan is an important step in making American children first and bringing them home," according to Jeffery Morehouse, Executive Director of Bring Abducted Children Home and founding partner in The Coalition.

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!

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.

CNN has agreed to cover the events.

Anyone interested in joining in support is asked to email [email protected]

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.

• Bring Abducted Children Home (BACHome) was incorporated in 2011 to educate the Dept of State, Congress, the media and the public, and to raise awareness of the plight of 375+ U.S. citizen children kidnapped to (and wrongfully retained) in Japan.
  
• The Government of Japan has never returned an abducted child in 58 years, making Japan a BLACK HOLE for child abduction since NO CHILD HAS EVER RETURNED.
  
• Both children and parents are suffering from this terrible crime.  Join BAC Home on Facebook and help us end this injustice.