 Kaoru Magosaki, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
ABC News Radio’s Eleni Psaltis presents Japan In Focus, a new program that takes a close look at significant political and cultural developments in Japan. On the April 13, 2015 broadcast she speaks with Director of the Hague Convention Division at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kaoru Magosaki. During the interview he admits that Japan “cannot enforce any sort of access.”
Bring Abducted Children Home’s Managing Director, Randy Collins interviewed on KPSU’s Fathers, Mothers, and Families.
 April 1, 2015 was a significant day in the Parental Abduction issue with Japan. One year ago Japan signed on to, and became a member of, The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. It was the last G-8 nation to do so. Last year, on March 31st, (April 1 in Japan) dozens of parents along with Congressman Smith and his staff walked arm in arm from an office building in Washington, DC, past The White House and finished at the State Department to deliver thirty Hague Article 21 applications which demanded access to our kidnapped children currently being held in Japan. We wasted no time to exercise our rights as outlined in The Hague Abduction Convention treaty.
 On March 25, 2015 Bring Abducted Children Home Executive Director Jeffery Morehouse testified to Congress on his case and the ongoing kidnapping crisis with Japan. “Now is the time for Japan to demonstrate they are serious about changing course on the ongoing crisis of International Parental Child Abduction,” said Morehouse whose son was kidnapped to Japan his ex-wife in June 2010. “I am hear to ask Congress to tell the Prime Minister it is not acceptable to continue to hold my son, “Mochi” Atomu Imoto Morehouse or any of the 400 U.S. children kidnapped to Japan.“ Rep. Christopher Smith (NJ-4) to Secretary of State John Kerry, "Japan has been breathtakingly unresponsive especially to abductions that occurred prior to ratification of the Hague (Abduction) Convention."  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!  Jeffery Morehouse speaks about his son’s kidnapping to Japan and International Parental Child Abduction at the 2014 Parents Equality Rally at the Washington State Legislature Building.   American Jeffrey Morehouse has no idea where his son lives, knowing only that the 10-year-old’s address is somewhere in Toyama Prefecture. His last contact with the boy was when his divorced Japanese wife lived in the United States. He lost all contact after she and her son abruptly moved to Japan. But Morehouse, who lives in Seattle, is finally taking a big step toward getting in touch with his son again, and perhaps bringing the child back to the United States. The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction took effect for Japan on April 1, giving parents overseas, like Morehouse, and in Japan a legal means to visit their children. The so-called Hague Abduction Convention governs cross-border child custody disputes resulting from broken marriages. Under the treaty, if a marriage fails and the parents start living in separate countries, the decision on who receives parental rights to raise children under 16 falls under the jurisdiction of the country where the family lived with the child before the breakup. Dear Gunnar and Kianna:
I love you very much and I miss you very much. This week I participate in more events in Washington DC in order to gain access to you. We have been apart for far too long. I wish I knew where you lived. I just don’t know. If I knew your number I would call you right now.  U.S. fathers urge Japan to comply with child custody treaty
A group of U.S. fathers urged the Japanese government Monday to comply with a convention for settling cross-border child custody disputes and help them and other American parents reunite with their children living in Japan. The fathers and their supporters, including a veteran congressman, handed a petition to a minister of the Japanese Embassy in Washington, a day before Japan’s implementation of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. They were among some 20 people who marched through the U.S. capital holding placards with their children’s pictures and met with a relevant U.S. government official earlier in the day to increase awareness of child abduction to Japan. The group Bring Abducted Children Home organized the events. Paul Toland, co-founder of the group, told reporters, referring to Japan’s accession to the Hague Convention, “Today can be a new beginning.” “But remember this. It’s just the beginning. The ultimate resolution of these cases has not yet been attained,” Navy employee Toland, 46, said.  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.  On April 1, 2014 Japan is expected to implement The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. No provisions have been made to directly address the 400 cases of U.S. children kidnapped to Japan since 1994. At 9AM on March 31, 2014, 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 they have requested to meet with Ambassador Sasae.  CNN has agreed to cover the events.
Anyone interested in joining in support is asked to email bachome@bachome.org 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.
At her confirmation hearing to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy, gives her commitment to promote and protect the welfare of U.S. citizens in Japan. During the hearing she is asked by Senator Ben Cardin if she will use her position to help resolve the almost 400 American cases that will not be covered under The Hague Abduction Convention. Ms. Kennedy states that as a parent she understands the emotional aspects of this issue and that she has already indicated her concerns to Bureau of Consular Affairs in a meeting in advance of the hearing.  Parents of Internationally Kidnapped Children and supporters gathered to deliver letters addressed to the Prime Minister of Japan to consulate officials at an event near Seattle. There was one letter for each of the 74 cases listed on the Bring Abducted Children Home website. They outlined Japan’s violations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and obligation to address the kidnapping and retention of children. This was the Government of Japan’s response to our kidnapped children…  Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representative’s held another hearing on International Parental Child Abduction. Substantive portions of the hearing focused on the Japan abduction crisis with Members of Congress calling for stronger action to return kidnapped children.
We are extremely concerned about the direction of the implementing legislation in the Japanese Diet. This is an intentional effort by ruling parties to create loopholes that will all but ensure that no child abducted in the future will be returned to their country of habitual residence. Additionally, Japan has continued to fail to address the current cases or provide aid or assistance in providing information on where children kidnapped from the U.S. and other countries are being held. On his kidnapped son’s birthday, José Cacho raises awareness about International Parental Child Abduction in front of the Japanese Embassy in Spain.  Next week President Obama will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Abe in Washington D.C. The Prime Minister is anticipated to deliver a commitment to implementing Hague legislation. However, there has been no previously announced plan for resolution of existing cases. In advance of the meeting, Bring Abducted Children Home delivered letter addressed to the Prime Minister of Japan to Japanese consulates throughout the U.S.
 Eileen Toland By Paul Toland
“Grandmas hold our tiny hands for just a little while, but our hearts forever.” ~Author Unknown A few days ago, I watched the film “From the Shadows” about the human rights tragedy of International Parental Child Abduction to Japan. The scene that struck me hardest was watching Kaya Wong’s paternal grandmother attempt to visit Kaya on her way home from school and bring her some presents including a stuffed Panda bear. Kaya’s mother Akemi died from cancer in 2005 and soon after she was abducted by her maternal grandparents, Satoru and Sumiki Yokoyama. Kaya’s father, Paul Wong, has had no access to Kaya since the abduction. Likewise, Kaya’s paternal grandparents have also had no access to her. Dear Mochi, I tried to find you during New Year’s in Japan. I have never given up. I just wanted to give you a present, some Legos. They were always your favorite. Maybe I’d get to speak to you or give you a hug. I walked seventeen miles through the snow and rain, over two days, trying to locate your grandparent’s house. I was hoping you might visit there for the holidays. Multiple activist groups in Japan come together to educate Japanese citizens about ending parental child abduction.  By Jeffery Morehouse
On my recent trip to Japan, I met with several of the leaders, activists and groups in movement there to end parental child abduction and create joint custody laws. Their domestic problem is enormous in its volume. I met parents that had some briefly monthly visitation and as extreme as a father who has not seen his children for seven years. He would later assist me as I tried to deliver a present for my son on New Year’s Day. One of the interesting facets was to see the utilization of Japanese animation characters in doing the public outreach at the event in Gifu, Japan. Frankly at first, I thought it was strange and undercut the seriousness of this human and family rights issue. Then I looked at it through local eyes and saw its brilliance. These characters create an easy entry point to the hearts and minds of children and young women. |
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