The decision came just in time for Prime Minister Naoto Kan to announce it at next week’s Group of Eight summit meeting in France.
At a news conference Friday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano explained that Japan decided to join the 1980 Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction from the viewpoint of “children’s welfare.”
“When (a marriage) crosses borders, the situation becomes increasingly difficult and the Hague Treaty is a certain standard or rule in the international community,” Edano said. “I believe it is desirable for Japan to be consistent with this standard amid deepening ties on various levels with the international society.”