Stolen Children.

Since 1951, not one single abducted child has been returned to the US from Japan - giving Japan the worst child abduction record in the world - even worse than Libya, Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia.

WARNING: If you are married to a Japanese national and have children, please be aware that you have no legal protection from child abduction by your spouse. Once this abduction occurs, everything is out of your hands - you will have no legal recourse to legally gain custody of your children OR EVEN VISITATION. It is a potential problem for all of those married to Japanese nationals, including Japanese nationals! Abuction can mean your kids being taken by your spouse half way around the world back to Japan, or taken from your family home in Japan to your spouse's parent's home just 5 minutes down the road. Both situations result in 100% denial of visitation or communication with your children INDEFINITELY (Japanese society sees separation as final), all with the approval of the local family court. The terrible effects this has on children and the left-behind parent is ignored by the family courts who think 100% separation of parent and child is actually "in the best interests of the child". Forgetting even countless studies that clearly show what harm such separation does to children, common sense should tell you such separation does much long-term harm.

Why accept this sword of Damocles over your head? For many of us, the sword has already fallen.

Sign our petition whether you are married to a Japanese national or separated from one, or are even a Japanese national married to a non-Japanese national - it doesn't matter. What matters is a unified allegiance against the Family Courts of Japan who care little for your children's welfare.

Print out the petition list and let your local family court in Japan (or your spouse's Family Court in Japan local to him/her) know there are many people who are demanding reform that enables meaningful and enforced (if necessary) access to children for both parents. Also send a copy of the petition to your local MP (member of parliament). It is likely to be an eye-opener to your local MP who may not even be aware that Japan is a safe-haven for child abductors.

We are a resource/community site with information regarding parental rights in Japan for those who are separated or divorced. We're also campaigning for fairer and more robust visitation rights for non-custodial parents.
More information on FRIJ.net here
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Our funadamental mission statement:-

"The Japanese Family Court laws need amending in order to uphold and enforce the fundamental birthright that a child has regular, meaningful access to BOTH of his or her parents."

Agree with the above statement? Click here to sign our petition! - 216 people already agree - please add your name; see the list (click here), print it out and send it to your nearest family court in Japan and make them realise SIMPLE reform is necessary to ensure children of divorced parents TRULY have their best interests met. Currently, the family courts of Japan are not doing their job!! Reform simply means enforcing their court orders.

With the continuing drop in the birth rate in Japan (and marriage rate) - surely it's wise to encourage people to marry and have children by letting them know they will always have their rights of a parent met regardless of divorce. As it stands, marriage is risky given the divorce rate and lack of support from the family courts in Japan - no wonder people are having less children in Japan if there are no guarantees of fulfilling the role of being a parent - the first parent to have custody of the child(ren) will win overall fulltime custody by the family court and the non-custodial parent will likely never see their child(ren) meaningfully again. Given that, currently it could be said that the drop in the birth-rate in Japan is partly a result of the Draconian family laws of Japan (amongst other reasons). In the long run, Japan will suffer economically and socially by doing nothing.