Â鶹´«Ã½

Tag - parental-child-abduction

 
Â鶹´«Ã½
Search
 
August 16, 2026
 

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

PARENTAL CHILD ABDUCTION

The Osaka District Court ordered the man to have his son appear at a hearing, but the man failed to bring him on all three designated dates.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 11, 2025
Osaka man detained for three weeks under human protection law
It is rare for a person to be detained under the human protection law, which has no clause on a specific period for such detentions, said an expert on Â鶹´«Ã½ family laws.
Legislation that allows the option of joint custody of children after divorce is passed at the Upper House plenary session on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 17, 2024
Japan changes law to allow joint custody after divorce
For decades in Japan, one parent ¡ª almost always the mother ¡ª has been granted legal custody when a marriage ends.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 15, 2024
Ai Fukuhara reaches custody settlement after abduction accusation
Although the physical custody of their son as well as their daughter will be with her ex-husband, the couple will continue to have joint custody over them.
If you've come to the realization that divorce is the only way forward, there are a host of details about the Japanese marriage system to confirm before you're finally ready to cut ties.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Aug 21, 2023
Navigating the notorious gauntlet of divorce in Japan
Everyone wishes for ¡°happily ever after¡± no matter where you¡¯re from, but Japan recorded 1,671 bicultural divorces in 2021.
Members of the media take photos of lawyers Hsu Sung Po (left) and Aiko Ohbuchi (center) and Taiwanese table tennis player Chiang Hung-chieh at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 27, 2023
Table tennis star Ai Fukuhara accused by ex-husband of abducting their son
The ex-husband, Taiwanese table tennis player Chiang Hung-chieh, has said that a court in Japan ruled that Fukuhara was required to hand over their son.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 15, 2022
Frenchman¡¯s wife sues over ¡®parental kidnapping¡¯ claims
In the lawsuit, the woman claims that she has been defamed by the spread of the information, seeking damages and demanding that related articles be retracted.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2022
Japanese wife of French national cites lack of trust for not allowing child visitations
The Fichot case made headlines and was seen as a tragic case of a father not being able to see his children.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 20, 2022
Working draft includes option for Japan to introduce joint child custody
A subcommittee that advises the Justice Ministry will adopt the interim proposal at its next meeting, to be held at the end of August, and will solicit opinions from the general public.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2021
A hunger strike reignites conversations about parental rights in Japan
Detractors of the country¡¯s system of sole parental authority say it promotes child ¡®abductions,¡¯ while supporters say change could exacerbate domestic abuse.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 31, 2021
EU envoys back Frenchman on hunger strike over Japan child custody
Japan, unlike most countries, does not recognize joint custody and children often lose contact with the noncustodial parent.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2020
European lawmakers chide Japan over abduction of children by a parent
European lawmakers lobbied by fathers unable to see children taken by Japanese mothers urged Tokyo on Tuesday to combat the abduction of minors by one parent and change a law that does not recognize joint custody after a split.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 17, 2020
In Japan, foreign parents lead charge against loss of child custody
A growing number of foreign nationals in Japan are speaking out against what they say is a little-known but entrenched system that allows one parent in a broken relationship to take away children and block the other from visiting them.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 15, 2020
Australian father gets suspended term for trespassing at in-law¡¯s Tokyo home
A Tokyo-based Australian journalist and father was given a suspended prison term of six months by the Tokyo District Court on Wednesday for illegally trespassing into a building complex where his in-laws live in Tokyo¡¯s Suginami Ward in October, in what the journalist said was an attempt to check on...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Jun 3, 2018
Left-behind dad¡¯s last resort: Impeach Â鶹´«Ã½ Supreme Court judges
Dogged father in Hague Convention case shines a light on a check-and-balance on the judiciary that barely functions.
JAPAN / Society
May 18, 2018
U.S. cites Japan for noncompliance with Hague treaty on cross-border parental child abductions
The move may help put greater pressure on Japan to comply with the treaty, observers say.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 13, 2018
Readers reach out to lost friends and family in Japan
Another of our occasional ¡®in search of¡¯ columns featuring people hoping for a blast from their pasts, along with an update on efforts to help children and parents in international abduction cases.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Apr 15, 2018
Advice on HIV tests, Japanese pensions, rugby and reuniting with kids
Lifelines works through a selection of topics that have come our way recently.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Apr 1, 2018
Â鶹´«Ã½ Supreme Court orders a child be sent home in a Hague parental abduction case. Maybe.
Defanged habeas corpus grew some teeth in last month¡¯s Nagoya international custody ruling, but the problem of toothless enforcement remains.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 15, 2018
Supreme Court breaks new ground, ruling in favor of U.S.-based Japanese father in international custody battle
The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday in favor of a U.S.-based Japanese father seeking to reunite with his teenage son, who was taken by his estranged wife to Japan in 2016, concluding that the wife¡¯s dogged refusal to abide by an earlier court order mandating the minor¡¯s repatriation amounts to her ¡°illegally...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Dec 31, 2017
Â鶹´«Ã½ Supreme Court hands down a road map for parental child abductions
The top court¡¯s latest ruling suggests judges will find ways to avoid messy Hague Convention returns that Japan lacks the means to enforce anyway.
Forty-five meters down, a diver races to record a fleeting moment of WWII history
Kingo Wakasa photographs the kamikaze plane wing section he discovered at the USS Emmons wreck site.
Authorities urge continued caution after heavy rain in Chiba leaves eight dead
A local resident walks past a 7-Eleven convenience store in a flooded area after heavy rain in the city of Oamishirasato, Chiba Prefecture, on Friday.
Takaichi drops ¡®remorse¡¯ in her first war memorial address
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks onstage during a memorial service ceremony marking the 81st anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II, at Budokan Hall in Tokyo on Saturday.
U.S. to tell partners they must pick sides in AI race with China?
People march as they protest against Pax Silica, a U.S.-led initiative, in Manila on Thursday.
Â鶹´«Ã½ inflation paradox is creating winners and losers
Chieko Sugai at her home in Murakami, Niigata Prefecture
Forty-five meters down, a diver races to record a fleeting moment of WWII history
Kingo Wakasa photographs the kamikaze plane wing section he discovered at the USS Emmons wreck site.
Takaichi needs Aso on her side to solidify position in LDP
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a Liberal Democratic Party meeting alongside LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki (left) and LDP Vice President Taro Aso in Tokyo earlier this month
Ikarigata closer to emulating older brother Fujinokawa than many think
The future Fujinokawa (third from left) and Ikarigata (right) compete against each other at ages 5 and 3, respectively.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER