umarin comments

Rather shocked to hear your case as I've never head a case of the US not sending a kid back to Japan if they've been kidnapped.

It is happening. Those cases are not reported as well as opposite cases or people don't pay attention. American government doesn't care about the incoming cases as much as the outgoing cases and Japanese government doesn't help us either. In these cases, I wish the us goverment would give us some kind of visa to live in the states to be close to the children....

Japan's family court often awards sole custody to the parent with whom the child is residing.

So does American court, when it comes to the international divorce. My child was kidnapped by my ex-spouse from Japan to U.S. The worst thing was my ex-spouse had deceived me for 6months so that the jurisdiction would be in the states. Niether Japanese government or American government help me because Japan is not signatory to the Hague Convention.

I'm not the only Japanese who is suffering from this problem.

The parent who wrongfully remove children from other parent shouldn't get awarded the custody.