At the heart of the Japanese international child abduction problem is Japan’s sole custody law. In Japan when parents divorce a single parent is granted sole custody of the children. One parent simply has to give up all his or her rights to their children. If one is not a Japanese citizen, you can be assured you will not be granted sole custody of your children. Not only does this violate the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it constitutes cruel and unusual punishment to the children of divorced parents.
Left-behind parents with children abducted in Japan constantly hear that the Japanese Government wants to do what is in the best interest of the child. Really? Is sole custody really in the best interest of children? How can removing a loving parent possibly be in the best interest of children? In the cases of abduction involving criminal acts under both U.S. and Japanese law, Japan drags its feet and fails to uphold its own laws. It protects the abductors, alienates the other parent and harms the children.
On this issue, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) states “Tragically, Japan has become a black hole for children whose Japanese parent—or in some cases non-Japanese parent—decided not to abide by the laws of the United States and rather to run to a jurisdiction where they would not have to share custody, or even permit visitation of the child by the child’s other parent. Japan has historically been complicit in these abductions, offering protection without investigation.” If the Japanese Government truly cared for what is in the best interest of the children of within their country, they would change their custody laws. This would also help stop Japan from continuing to function as a haven for international child abduction.
The sole custody law simply is Cruel and Unusual Punishment to the innocent children caught up in Japan’s archaic legal system. The law is cruel in that a child is denied the loving care of a parent and unusual in that Japan is the only G20 nation with such a law. Japan is an outlier with an embarrassing policy that destroys parental-child relationships of not only my children, Gunnar and Kianna Berg, but hundreds of thousands of children within Japan.
By Douglass Berg
Loving father of Gunnar and Kianna Berg
*Quotes from Rep. Chris Smith are from a July 21, 2011 press release issued from his office and can be read in its entirety at http://chrissmith.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=253265
On this issue, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) states “Tragically, Japan has become a black hole for children whose Japanese parent—or in some cases non-Japanese parent—decided not to abide by the laws of the United States and rather to run to a jurisdiction where they would not have to share custody, or even permit visitation of the child by the child’s other parent. Japan has historically been complicit in these abductions, offering protection without investigation.” If the Japanese Government truly cared for what is in the best interest of the children of within their country, they would change their custody laws. This would also help stop Japan from continuing to function as a haven for international child abduction.
The sole custody law simply is Cruel and Unusual Punishment to the innocent children caught up in Japan’s archaic legal system. The law is cruel in that a child is denied the loving care of a parent and unusual in that Japan is the only G20 nation with such a law. Japan is an outlier with an embarrassing policy that destroys parental-child relationships of not only my children, Gunnar and Kianna Berg, but hundreds of thousands of children within Japan.
By Douglass Berg
Loving father of Gunnar and Kianna Berg
*Quotes from Rep. Chris Smith are from a July 21, 2011 press release issued from his office and can be read in its entirety at http://chrissmith.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=253265
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