Custody Battles in Japan

This article focuses on foreign men who marry Japanese women, have a child, and subsequently get a divorce. In Japan, about 80% of custody cases result in the mother winning custody of the child. Even in cases where the foreign parent wins the court case, the ruling is often not enforced. One person quoted in the article says that it's not that Japanese law favors Japanese parents, but that it favors "abductors."

These practices seem to violate the Hague convention, which supposed to prevent parents from bringing (or according to the legislation "abducting") their child to another country. According to the U.S. state department, Japan has a habit of not complying with the convention. Even when parents win subsequent court battles in Japanese courts, the police often do not act according to the article. This is because there are strict rules about not causing a child any psychological harm. Japan has defended its record, saying that the vast majority of Hague Convention cases have been settled.

The separate case of parents relocating a child within Japan is not covered by the Hague convention, and is also discussed in the article.

I think it's unfortunate that there is so much uncertainty and inconsistency regarding these laws. I don't know enough about international or Japanese law to have an opinion of these type of rules, but I was struck by how unofficial this process seemed to be. It must be very nerve-racking as a parent, given these circumstances.