The Anguish of Parental Child Abduction: Japan Moves Towards Granting Joint Custody

The anguish of parental child abduction: Japan moves towards granting joint custody

Every year in Japan, thousands of fathers fall victim to parental child abduction. It very often follows the same pattern: the Japanese mother leaves suddenly with the child and then forbids the father from seeing them again. These are abductions that fathers – Japanese and foreign alike – are powerless to fight, since Japan is one of the only countries in the world that does not recognise joint custody post-marriage. After a divorce, custody is…

UN envoy says world must not give up on Japanese abductees in North Korea

The U.N. special envoy for North Korean human rights met with the family members of Japanese nationals kidnapped by the DPRK on Tuesday, reportedly emphasizing that the international community must not “give up” on securing the abductees’ return. During a meeting with Special Rapporteur Elizabeth Salmon in Tokyo on Tuesday, the abductees’ families called for […]