On August 18th 2006 a group of left behind parents took to the streets of Hollywood California to protest Japan's hypocrisy in regards to international abduction. A 9 minute movie was created using footage from the first day of the protest. Please share this link with everyone you know.

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I would like to thank Mark, and CRN Japan for helping make the protest possible. Thank you also to John Smith, and the Whitney family for their participation.

Remember - It is the people that can change the world.

Eric Kalmus

http://www.crnjapan.com/megumiyokotaprotest.html

My advice for anyone in a bad situation is to hide the passports (both your country and Japan) of your kids along with their birth certificates. Your spouse may still be able to get copies but it may slow them down or raise some flags.

Blah Pete wrote:My advice for anyone in a bad situation is to hide the passports (both your country and Japan) of your kids along with their birth certificates. Your spouse may still be able to get copies but it may slow them down or raise some flags.

Thank you for your advice Pete - The only problem with just hiding passports is the fact that Japan and their embassies will issue "emergency passports" in an instant. If you are interested in finding out more about how to stop this horrible tragedy from happening to you please check online at http://www.crnjapan.com

There is a lot of good information to ponder before marrying a Japanese National.

You really ought to put Japanese subtitles on that video.

Thanks - We are currently in the process. I will post the updated version as soon as possible. Thank you for your support.

We've discussed this issue before on FG:

Divorce Form Child Custody Question

Japan Parental Child Abduction- U.S. State Dept. Warning

Divorce in Japan - How much does it cost?

Really FG Parents

There may be more threads, but this is what I found so far..

GJ

Where do you live ekalmus?

Who was the idiot who suggested going to try to get the kids back with guns blazing?? I would suggest that you dub that with a better line like, "have you tried to re-kiddnap your kids back?"

The video really shows your frustration. Fight the good fight. It may be a long road.

you suffer Chrysanthemum attack certainly if you campaign something like that in Japan..

GomiGirl wrote:Who was the idiot who suggested going to try to get the kids back with guns blazing?? I would suggest that you dub that with a better line like, "have you tried to re-kiddnap your kids back?"

The video really shows your frustration. Fight the good fight. It may be a long road.

Yeah, I was thinking that part ought to be cut altogether. It kind of takes aways from the seriousness of the message.

did none of these people know that abortion is legal in japan?

This is a great post. I have been to the web site and really was encouraged when I read the sucess story about the military guy. Basically the SOFA(Status of Forces Agreement) overrides Japanese law. The kid is not living in Japan under this agreement. He is under juristicition(sp) of the Military members home state. I really like the idea of knowing that. Just in case, ya know?

(1VB)freels wrote:This is a great post. I have been to the web site and really was encouraged when I read the sucess story about the military guy. Basically the SOFA(Status of Forces Agreement) overrides Japanese law. The kid is not living in Japan under this agreement. He is under juristicition(sp) of the Military members home state. I really like the idea of knowing that. Just in case, ya know?

Any international treaty is supposed to override national law (in theory at least). SOFA members seeking a divorce in Japan, must comply and provide the court with the (translated) applicable divorce laws of their home of record in the US. This includes the state requirements on custody and child support.

However, this has never be a more than a passing thought, if that, to certain J-spouses who are making a run from their spouse with kids in tow! The problem remains on getting legal redress from the Japanese legal system on this issue. Most SOFA people run into this when they are out of Japan and are not able to access the J-legal system either in person or also financially. Not knowing how to access the system is the biggest stumpling block and then most courts (not all) are going to be more sympathetic with the poor "wronged" J-spouse (one of their own) then they are with the FG. So the FG is going to face a rough up-hill in these matters, but it can and has been done. If the FG has the time (and in most cases, the finances).

The J-media has and continues to exacerbate public thinking (which does not exclude judges) on these problems with their so-called exposes on the "sensou hana yomesan". The favorite ploy in these of these "cases", is to interview a former bar hooker (who else would marry an FG), who married some drunk GI and then got "stranded" in the states and had to struggle to make her way back to the bossom of mother Nippon without money, or other means.

It has only been in recent years that they have began showing successful interracial marriages and portraying them in a favorable light. However, most of these usually only concern the marriages where the FG spouse is famous, or rich. The former case stories still make the TV programming of choice!

GomiGirl wrote:Who was the idiot who suggested going to try to get the kids back with guns blazing?? I would suggest that you dub that with a better line like, "have you tried to re-kiddnap your kids back?"

The video really shows your frustration. Fight the good fight. It may be a long road.

-----------

We discussed this a lot when making the movie. Some people thought it was better to see the reaction of the typical person on the street and I agree. That is why he was left in. There were people who went even further with their thoughts in regards to what could be done.

His comments show that the majority of people react with anger. That is the point I was trying to get across.

As far as the long road... yes it has already been one. I have not seen my little girl in almost 9 years now.

Thank you for your support.

Eric

Visitor K wrote:did none of these people know that abortion is legal in japan?

Hey now - lets not get mean. Love was a part of the relationship at one time.

Thank you for your support.

Eric

Takechanpoo wrote:you suffer Chrysanthemum attack certainly if you campaign something like that in Japan..

What ??? Have I been away from Japan too long..? I have no idea what that means.

Thank you for your support.

Eric

Is it just my imagination or did you answer everyone's questions but mine?

AssKissinger wrote:Is it just my imagination or did you answer everyone's questions but mine?

Currently in North America. Why did you want to know??

ekalmus wrote:What ??? Have I been away from Japan too long..? I have no idea what that means.

Thank you for your support.

Eric

Going to Japan you'll gain much attention for this issue if the NHK boys ever give it the green light for broadcast, but I'm sure you may raise the eyebrows of a few Japanese rightwingers, radical lefties and uyoku groups

ekalmus wrote:Currently in North America. Why did you want to know??

I think maybe you can guess but if your kids are in Japan and you're in Canada or whatever your lack of proximity causes me to question your sincerity.

you better treat the problem of Japanese abducted by General Kimchi more carefully,
because this problem is very very very sensitive and controversy problem in country of Chrysanthemum.
otherwise you will pay for it some day.

Takechanpoo wrote:you better treat the problem of Japanese abducted by General Kimchi more carefully,
because this problem is very very very sensitive and controversy problem in country of Chrysanthemum.
otherwise you will pay for it some day.

you need help. there is no other explanation for posts such as these. the problem of japanese nationals abducted from the land of the concrete chrysanthemum and of children abducted by wayward scofflaw parents to japan with no recourse in japanese law are one and the same. it's japan that had better wake up to this reality, otherwise you will pay for it someday.

didn't watch the video so can't really comment on this thread.
thanks.

Sorry!

VERY good poitns Marvin.

Visitor K wrote:did none of these people know that abortion is legal in japan?

If the Japanese is the mother and she is of the type to parentally abduct the child anyways, typically all this buys a father is the accusation in court that you wanted her to abort the child, so you don't deserve to have custody, visitation, etc. If this is your preferred solution, she needs to be convinced to come to this conclusion on her own.

Thank you for your sincere comments. I am associated with this protest also, so let me reply to your observations. Please excuse the slight rearrangement of your text as I reply to several points.

Marvin wrote:Megumi is beyond reproach in Japan and the first response of the average Japanese at being accused of hypocrisy in dealing with her case would be hostility. Japanese hostility is the last thing you need. You need to get the Japanese on side.

...

For better or worse, the moment you are critical of Megumi et al, you will lose all sympathy with the Japanese media. It would be much more productive if you enlisted her aid, so to speak, and found similarities in your positions rather than held her up as an example of how you are being treated unfairly by the Japanese.

If you read carefully, I think you will find that no one is criticizing Megumi, criticizing the efforts to find out what happened to her and the others, or supporting what North Korea did in any way shape or form. If you see anything that seems to suggest otherwise, please let eric or myself know. It was not intentional.

Marvin wrote:Without intending to cheapen your problem, don't forget that Megumi was the victim of a national government's abduction policies while you are victims of unscrupulous individuals. Most Japanese will see your situation this way and struggle to equate the abduction of Megumi with the abduction of your children.

It is a common misconception that the Japanese government is not involved. Firstly, in some sense it is very proper to say "Japan" is responsible, because parental abduction is not a crime in Japan. This is in essence the fault of both politicians and citizens. You may say, well, that's the decision of the country. But what if North Korea has a law saying that kidnapping strangers from other countries is ok as long as it is to enhance national security? Would that make Megumi Yokota's kidnapping it ok? Of course not. International law/norms say that parental kidnapping is a crime. The Japanese government and courts refuse to abide by the rules that other developed countries of the world do.

Secondly, the Japanese courts are certainly racially biased. Foreigners never, I repeat never win custody. The courts will either award custody to the Japanese despite previous rulings where the child used to live, or if a court does recognize foreign custody, they will just not enforce it so that the Japanese parent continues to retain control of the abducted child anyways.

Third, here is a case where the courts, the police and even the Ministry of Foreign Affairs collaborated to prevent a foreign parent from trying to enforce foreign court orders.

A final and less obvious relationship is that the Japanese courts are not independent of the Japanese government. They almost always uphold government policy. Politicians do not want to start sending abducted Japanese children to nasty foreign countries. And if the best the courts could do was give Koizumi a slap on the wrist for visiting Yasukuni, they will never criticize his personal life. (Maybe the later will change with Abe....)

I could go on, but I hope you get the point that the Japanese government is indeed a part of this problem. The problem is not EXACTLY the same as in North Korea. But they are still involved. Read some of the stories here for more examples:

http://www.crnjapan.com/people/

Marvin wrote:My advice is to focus your argument on two areas. In English, target the major media organizations and get them writing on it -- the Japanese hate nothing more than being criticized by the foreign media.

We are doing so. We believe that the US media will understand the similarities, and the hypocrisy involved.

Marvin wrote:And, work on getting sympathy with the Japanese media. Contact Japanese media organizations in the U.S. and let them know your plight. I would suggest comparing the situation with Megumi and the other abductees with your own.

We are also doing this. You may be interested in an article that appeared in Japanese, in the Mainichi Shinbun in August right after the protest. (This is an English translation but click on the NIHONGO in the upper right corner to see the original Japanese.)

Marvin wrote:Talk more about the pain of having somebody snatched away and the hurt of not knowing where they are and if you'll ever see them again. I would even try to enlist the aid of the abductees' organization in Japan.

Good idea. We probably don't emphasize this enough as it seems most obvious to all of us involved. We are pursuing the abductees organizations as well. But as evidenced here, there are a lot of rightist elements behind the abductees organizations. Thus we do not expect anything from this. They have their own agenda and so far, it does not seem like working with us would further that for them. Know what I mean?

AssKissinger wrote:I think maybe you can guess but if your kids are in Japan and you're in Canada or whatever your lack of proximity causes me to question your sincerity.

Before I left Japan I could not get a new visa, and while yes I could have gone back over and over on a student visa I was broke and far older than a student. I returned to the US with next to nothing. I had built quite a life in Japan. I owned a restaurant, worked on the stock exchange and put together large events.

After 2 years of lawyer fees, and having my ex take every yen out of my bank I was flat broke. I came back to the US at 30 years old, and had to live with my mother. I had no money for a place to live...and lord knows none for airline tickets.

While yes I am an intelligent person and I could have possibly found a way to earn the money needed to continue the fight I fell into a deep depression. I had gone to every big lawyer in tokyo and the only thing I found out was that there was nothing I could do & I was no longer welcome.

With every piece of my soul I felt torn in half. I no longer had my baby. I realize I didn't actually give birth to my little girl, but my attachment to her was as strong if not stronger to her mothers. After losing the fighting spirit I couldn't do much aside from try to get my life going again.

It took about 7 years for the depression to subside. I was in therapy but it just killed me that my girl was no longer a part of my life and there wasn't much I could do about it. During that time I remarried and attempted to start another family.

In December 2004 I was again involved in another custody dispute with my sons mother - another Japanese (what was I thinking marrying a Japanese again?) Anyway I stopped this one, and saved my son - at least for the moment. I have numerous orders against his mother, and worked out a way that she could not escape back to Japan through any of the US airports.

At the time I was fight to keep my son http://www.crnjapan.com/megumiyokotaprotest.html (Upper left picture)
I came across CRN Japan.com - Mark, the one who is the webmaster of CRNJapan.com had amassed a lot of data. Mark was great and helped me put together all of the information I would need to educate the Judge over here and get the orders I needed to protect my soon Sawyer.

When Sawyers mom and I split he was only 10 months old. Due to her unbalanced mental condition the courts awarded me custody. From the time he was 10 months old in the year 2000 until just before his 5th birthday he lived with me, and his mother had limited visitation. Have you ever raised a child?

With Marks help I began studying the latest on the situation with Japan and quickly became very knowledgeable. I took over my life and I was finally able to break out of the sadness I had been wrapped up in. I was finally starting to fight for Amy, and all of the other abducted children in non-hague countries.

I wrote a letter to Laura Bush in hopes that she might help. She does a lot with American Youth, and no matter what I think about her husband I reached out to her. I also filed cases with the NCMEC, the FBI and the US State Department. In addition I put out a yellow alert on Amy's mother. If she ever enters the USA I will be contacted and they will hold her until I arrive.

When I realized what was currently going on in the world regarding non-hague countries I decided I needed to help. I not only need to help my two children, but the thousands of other children who have been put through the separation from a parent by the other parent or grandparents.

Holding the protest was one way to help get the word out. If people don't know that this problem exists, it cant be changed. I am also working on a feature length film regarding the problem. I would rather not discuss that too much until it is closer to completion, but I am doing what I can.

So, as you can see your ideas and what you think is going on really don't hold much water. I am not insincere... I am fighting. I am going all the way to the UN , and the people of the world to help right this wrong. I work on it for weeks / months at a time, and chip away at the great wall of japan stone by stone.

Have some compassion, and ask questions. Hopefully you wont find yourself in a similar situation.

Best Regards;

Eric

Before I left Japan I could not get a new visa

That's rough. So having a child who's living in Japan doesn't qualify you? I've been able to keep getting new visas to Japan so easily that surprises me. I'm not saying I don't believe you though. I worry very much about what if my wife dies before me and I can't collect retirement funds paid into Japanese systems. I also worry that if my wife dies first I would end up old and booted from Japan so that part of your story concerns me a great deal.

Have you ever raised a child?

No. I don't have any. I've taken care of my responsibilities in that regard up front. It's a lot easier that way.

Good luck and thanks for addressing my question.

I do think having two kids from two different Japanese mothers and two marriages that didn't work out reflect some bad decision making on your part. At least, you're in the ring fighting for your kids though. I got to say I have full respect for that.

What kind of communication do you have going on with your ex-wives now?

AssKissinger wrote:That's rough. So having a child who's living in Japan doesn't qualify you?

No it doesn't. I will never forget sitting in court and having the mediators look at me and basically say that since I no longer had a Japanese wife, or child (remember I lost my little girl.) I also no longer had a right to stay in the country.

At the time I was employed by a very large international bank in Tokyo, but they too were unable to get my visa renewed. The Visa dept actually told me they felt as though Japan didnt want me around any longer.

AssKissinger wrote:I worry very much about what if my wife dies before me and I can't collect retirement funds paid into Japanese systems. I also worry that if my wife dies first I would end up old and booted from Japan so that part of your story concerns me a great deal.

Make sure you get residency at least. That will protect you if god forbid your fears come true.

AssKissinger wrote:I do think having two kids from two different Japanese mothers and two marriages that didn't work out reflect some bad decision making on your part. At least, you're in the ring fighting for your kids though. I got to say I have full respect for that.

Thank you. I appreciate you pointing out my short falls (said with sarcasm)

Thank you again for your support.

Eric