Japan and International Child Abduction

On May 20, 2011, Japan finally announced its intention to sign the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. To date, 84 countries are parties to this treaty, and Japan is the only G7 country not on the list. Japan has long been an unrepentant haven for child-abducting parents. The United States Office of Children's Issues has no record of any cases requesting the return of a wrongfully retained or abducted child being resolved through the Japanese court system. The only successful returns have been the result of voluntary agreements negotiated between the parties. Unfortunately, as welcome as Japan's announcement might be to the international community, its reputation as a black hole of parental child abduction might not be lost so easily.