Bring Abducted Children Home (BACHome.org) co-founder and Southwest Regional Director, Randy Collins, has been instrumental in getting new legislation introduced in California to protect children from international parental abduction. He has worked closely with California State Senator Mimi Walters (R-33rd District) and her staff on: California Senate Bill Number: SB 1206
“It has been 2397 days since my daughter was abducted by her mother to Japan. How do I get one of those days back?”, stated father and BAC Home member, William Lake. Mary Lake was abducted to Japan in August 2005. Today, after nearly seven years, she heads home to Florida. We just spoke to Mr. Lake who has confirmed that Mary landed safely on U.S. soil and has just boarded another flight on her journey home. For the attention of the Japanese government:
Like many other court hearings that follow a divorce, a court transcript out of Tennessee reflects testimony concerning a couple’s two children: Attorney: Ms. Savoie. … You have known all along that Dr. Savoie’s biggest fear is that you’re going to take those children to Japan and he’ll never see them again; you know that? •••CALL THE CANDIDATES••• •••Bring Abducted Children Home from Japan••• Mitt Romney (857) 288-3500 mittromney.com Suggested Questions- A) What would he do as President to bring the 374 registered cases of Americans kidnapped to Japan home to the U.S.? B) Will he commit to raising this issue publicly immediately? Barack Obama Campaign HQ (312) 698-3670 barackobama.com or Write or call President Obama at: The President The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. Washington, DC 20500 (202) 456-1111 Suggested Question- A) When is President Obama going to publicly demand that Japan return our kidnapped children? The leadership of Left Behind Parents Japan met with Yoshinori Oguchi on Monday, January 16th, 2012. Mr. Oguchi is a member of the New Komeito party, the third largest political party represented in the Diet. He was a member of the MoFA committee who discussed modifying Japan’s civil code last fall, in order to sign The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
We presented our policy statement calling for joint custody, criminalization of parental child abduction, policy enforcement of family court orders, meaningful visitation for non-custodial parents, addition of a new visa category for parents of Japanese children to remain in Japan after losing spousal visa status and modification of domestic violence law in Japan to preclude false allegations with no empirical evidence. This policy statement has been submitted to the Japanese government’s Ministry of Justice and also to Justice Minister (2011) Satsuki Eda.
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.
The parents from BAC Home would like to wish everyone a Happy Holiday season. This time of year is very hard for all left-behind parents since we cannot be with our kids who have been abducted to Japan. Hopefully they will see this video and know that we love them and miss them very much. Our love goes out to them. We want to extend our congratulations to Dr. Moises Garcia and his daughter Karina. After almost four years he finally got his daughter back home! Best wishes to him and his family as they reunite just in time for Christmas.
Dear Mochi, In just a few days it will be Christmas, and soon after that the beginning of a new year. Grandma and myself think of you always. With the advent of the holiday season we wanted you to know how much you are in our daily thoughts and hearts. Time seems to have passed by so quickly since we last held you, talked with you and laughed with you. Your smile, politeness, tender ways and infectious laugh continue to resonate within our souls daily. In just the few years we were able to be present in your daily life, you brought a life long carpet of happiness to ours. To coincide with the Dec. 18th rally in Tokyo by parents there, we took to the streets of Seattle to speak with holiday shoppers about how they can help children that have been abducted to and within Japan. As usual people here in the U.S. were shocked to learn about this human rights crisis. Japan is a country with a heart two sizes too small. It is the only country in the world which has NEVER returned a single abducted child. While it may be individuals who are stealing children, it is the Government of Japan that does nothing to resolve these cases allowing the abductions to take place. As the single worst country for harboring internationally abducted children, Japan has shown the world they truly are a Grinch that steals children. Went to Iwaki again Friday, December 2nd.
Upon arriving at the Suzuki family home I discovered it to be very quiet. I heard a television on in a side room and upon knocking and investigation it turned out that my father-in-law was there sleeping. It seems that my middle daughter Lauren had returned from school and was upstairs either playing very quietly or (more likely) having a nap. Suzuki Akiyoshi (her grandfather) upon waking him had no idea that she was even there. What is wrong with these people that a six year old is left to fend for herself in the company of an ill old man who is unaware of her presence. Children walk the streets alone here in Japan. They are raised by schools and ostensibly must raise themselves much of the time. My father-in-law had no idea where his wife was, no clue where my eldest daughter Rion was, no information at all. Unbelievable and sad. The government of Japan is gearing up to create domestic legislation in preparation for joining the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. They have said it will be addressed in the next full session of the Diet in the new year. Currently, as many of you are aware, reports indicate that the government of Japan is intending to create loopholes in this legislation which ensure that very few if any children will be required to be returned under the Convention. In order to prevent this, there has been proposed legislation created by left behind parent groups here in Japan which is presently being used to lobby Diet members on the behalf of LBP’s. Q&A with producer and Left Behind Parents after a private work-in-progress viewing of “From the Shadows” in Washington D.C. 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. The U.S., Canada and four other countries have jointly urged Japan to take legal steps to ensure that parents who have removed their children after the failure of international marriages will not be preferentially treated contrary to an international treaty on cross-border child custody disputes, government officials said Tuesday.
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.
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