Law revised to enforce child custody handovers

The Diet enacted a legal revision Friday to enable the handover of a child to a parent who has been awarded custody, even if the other parent refuses to abide by a court order to do so.

Just creating a law means jack-**** nothing! Enforcing it, and putting penalties on those that refuse to comply and ENFORCING those penalties as well, would be a good start.

Need to make a quick example out of some idiot, and let the world know it too!

Just creating a law means jack-**** nothing! Enforcing it, and putting penalties on those that refuse to comply and ENFORCING those penalties as well, would be a good start.

This law is a step in the correct direction. It allows the parent with custody to pick their child up at school or elsewhere to obtain physical custody. Previously, that was not an option because the other parent was not present.

When both parents were required to be present, the (typically) moms would just absent themselves resulting in no handover.

It is insane that the parent was able to just say 'No I don't want to' in the face of a court order to hand over a child.

Agree with all 3 posters above- Yubaru, U nailed it!

It is not unusual for children in Japan to stop seeing their fathers after their parents break up.

Japan is making such a big deal out of The Hague, but refuses to address the issue of joint custody within Japan. The above statement is incorrect. It’s not the children that stop seeing their fathers. The fathers are cut off from their children and given no visitation or contact at all. I know many divorced men in Japan who have not seen their kids since divorce. They go on about how The Hague custody issue effects the kids, but do nothing about how domestic custody issues effect the kids.

This is just showboating for the international audience. It should also be noted that, when Japan eventually acknowledged The Hague they stipulated that no cases prior to joining would be addressed. That means, the hundreds of cases of children being abducted that brought this horror to the world stage are totally ignored.

When i I got divorced my ex made me sign a form stating I could not take my kids out if Japan until they were 16, which also cut them off from their grandparents. During mediation she refused to agree to any kind of joint custody. She actually said I had to pay ¥3,000 per hour per child to see them, which was supported by the mediation court. This was six years ago. I got to see my kids half a dozen times in the first three years, but have not seen them for three years. She blocked all my email addresses and just hangs up the phone if I call to speak to my kids. And, when I went to the house she called the police. I have done nothing to this beast of a woman, but because there are no laws regarding joint custody she can say and do whatever she likes. The last contact I got from her was an email thanking me for my genes because both kids had won there sporting events at the school sports carnival. The Japan shame file is extensive.

...….well there is possible hope but will these amendment s be like labour laws, ie NOT ENFORCED AL ATT

time will tell but there are SO MANY precedents of Japan doing nothing I would not bet on it sadly!

Just creating a law means jack-**** nothing! Enforcing it, and putting penalties on those that refuse to comply and ENFORCING those penalties as well, would be a good start.

True but thatis actually what this new legislation is doing. Previously a parent could refuse to comply with a court order on custody and the authorities had very little way of enforcing such an order without the consent of the other parent.

The new law allows the authorities to enforce court orders in such situations now. Its a huge step in the right direction.

have done nothing to this beast of a woman, but because there are no laws regarding joint custody she can say 

If you aren't Japanese, that also doesn't help.

Yes this sounds good.

But it remains to be seen if they will actually enforce this in the case where a child says they don’t want to be “handed over.”

Because of the very real problem of parental alienation, the mother can just get the child to refuse to go. Police won’t haul the child off. Remember, some parents have resisted court orders for years.

And buried in there is

“The change is aimed at helping authorities to seize money and property from parents who fail to meet their court-ordered child support obligations”

So for the many who are struggling to pay child support every month, who don’t have custody, and haven’t seen their kids in years there will be no escape.

I can tell you. Life is hard when you struggle every single month to pay child support for kids you haven’t seen in years but who you cry over all the time.

and like one said , you just can’t go and see them , or even send emails because you can have police called.

Its a living hell I wouldn’t wish on anyone.

It won't change anything because the authorities are still not enforcing anything. There are countless fathers who cannot see their kids because in Japan, the mothers are still given priority, be they good or bad. It's even worse if you're a foreigner . Just look at the number of onstances where the kid has litterally been kidnapped by the mom. Also, ANY family matter always remains just that. A family matter. I tried to alert the police about the possibility that my neighbour was mistreating her kid a few years ago and they did NOTHING . They basically told me that it should be reported by a family member and with detailed occurencies. It made me sick!

"The revision also bars crime syndicate members from acquiring foreclosed real estate properties in public auctions."

Riders. Never fails, if there's a bill, there's a totally unrelated clause because it cant pass by itself. #endallriders

The amended law urges courts and enforcement officials to make sure that handovers do not adversely affect children's mental or physical well-being.

Well of course - think of the children, but this also looks like an easily manipulated 'out'.  Now if the courts would also lay the same obligation on the custodial parent - to not deride the other parent...

I got to see my kids half a dozen times in the first three years, but have not seen them for three years. She blocked all my email addresses and just hangs up the phone if I call to speak to my kids. And, when I went to the house she called the police.

Isn't there an association fighting this cruelty in an organized way?

I was myself a victim of this barbarism, and found a solution to find my daughter and introduce myself 3 years ago taking all risks after a more than 7 year interval of no seeing. She was 10 then, shocked when she saw me when returning home from school. I found her name on the web since her school listed names of some awardees after a contest. I know it was really hard for my little princess, but later I could start seeing my daughter again after a few court fights. Daddy power!!!

We need to make Japan feel ashamed of this barbarism in 2019.

I love Japan for good things I experienced there but I am not blind against ridiculous things therein. Especially when I and many other fellows fall victim of them.

The revision also bars crime syndicate members from acquiring foreclosed real estate properties in public auctions.

What a weird comment to append to the story. Usually I'm not one to criticize stories for giving too much info, but this final paragraph really didn't seem to have any connection to the story.

It won't change anything because the authorities are still not enforcing anything.

Well, they weren't enforcing anything before, because there was no law to enforce. Hence the creation of this law - to give them something to work with. The law just came into effect however, so how do you know they won't be enforcing anything? The very fact that they created a law, to fill a gap that the law previously missed, that wouldn't have been discovered as missing had they not tried to enforce the old law, would indicate not only that they had tried to enforce it in the past, but also indicates that they intend to fight it in the future.