Child Abduction Issue Explodes

[Cyka UchuuJin]

a hunger strike? really??? all that will accomplish is millions of japanese women writing to him in jail asking him for tips and if that method is faster or slower than the morning banana diet for results.

i wonder if this extension of time 'to figure out what to do with his case' is actually a move towards him being released and they need the 10 days not to figure out what to do with the case, but how to let him go without admitting they have done wrong by him and save face for themselves. i just remembered during my kansai incident, the emirates station manager came down at hour 24 and told me that they were going to hold me for another night, but that was actually a good thing, because it meant that the ministry of justice was probably about to return a favourable ruling on the appeal but needed time to 'prepare their explanation' so that there wouldn't be any further mistakes made. in short, do lots and lots and lots of paperwork that says 'you are not right, but we were not wrong either'.

now that savoie's case is a daily headline internationally, there must be a lot of 'face saving' meetings going on behind closed doors.

on the same token, savoie surely spent enough time in japan to know that a hunger strike or other irritation tactics won't get him very far.

[Behan]

a hunger strike? really??? all that will accomplish is millions of japanese women writing to him in jail asking him for tips and if that method is faster or slower than the morning banana diet for results.

Would have just given a green dot but I couldn't. Gave me a good laugh.

[Number11]

Hunger strike? Good. He looked like he could lose about 20 kg. I guess he wasn't getting his minimum daily requirement of drama.

[tokyolimited]

Foreign Policy: The U.S. Japan child-custody spat

"A first-hand witness to Chris Savoie's arrest told me personally that Chris had worked out the details in advance with the Embassy in Tokyo, and that Chris had called 30 minutes ahead of time to the Consulate in Fukuoka, and they assured him that they would let him in as soon as he arrived. However, when he arrived at the consulate with his children, they blocked his entrance, and left him standing out on the steps of the consulate for 10 full minutes until the Japanese police arrived and dragged him away.


I always thought it was odd for Noriko to be smart enough to quickly assume that Savoie would head to the US Consulate.
A full 10 minutes sounds like the US Consulate called the Japanese police, eh?

[Behan]

I always thought it was odd for Noriko to be smart enough to quickly assume that Savoie would head to the US Consulate.
A full 10 minutes sounds like the US Consulate called the Japanese police, eh?

Sounds like the consulate or embassy f*cked him over big time. Now he'w a double FG.

[Cyka UchuuJin]

"A first-hand witness to Chris Savoie's arrest told me personally that Chris had worked out the details in advance with the Embassy in Tokyo, and that Chris had called 30 minutes ahead of time to the Consulate in Fukuoka, and they assured him that they would let him in as soon as he arrived. However, when he arrived at the consulate with his children, they blocked his entrance, and left him standing out on the steps of the consulate for 10 full minutes until the Japanese police arrived and dragged him away.


I always thought it was odd for Noriko to be smart enough to quickly assume that Savoie would head to the US Consulate.
A full 10 minutes sounds like the US Consulate called the Japanese police, eh?

or it's also very likely that savoie was not entirely forthcoming about all the details of the situation and the embassy did some investigating of their own.

noriko is a grade a bitch, but it would not have taken a whole lot of brains to figure out where he was going to do with them. the kids most likely don't carry their passports to school with them, so he'd have to sort that one out first.

it's also very good knowledge that embassies and consulates are not especially helpful when it comes to legal situations, especially when it comes to local law enforcement or immigration, unless it's something like a diplomat being caught drink driving or caught with this trousers down. with my kix detention, both the american and russian consulates told me they would make a phone call to immigration and 'let them know they were aware of the situation and would be monitoring it', but that was it. when my friend was detained, every time he called the british embassy, the call was routed to a 24 hour number in the uk in the department that deals with their citizens abroad in situations.

many embassies and consulates hire locals for their exterior security/screening staff. so the other very real possibility is that he got there and the japanese security guards were 'following procedure' of needing to check his documents, then having to call someone inside the consulate to clear entrance.

[tokyolimited]

Cops responding that quickly to arrest a man in front of a foreign consulate without verifiable information. Any hesitation would've been natural with the risk of international incident.
Even if they believed the call from Noriko, for all they know it could have been one of the many consulates in Japan or even the Embassy. Why didn't they set up roadblocks around the city as well.
Full 10 minutes my ass.

[Cyka UchuuJin]

Cops responding that quickly to arrest a man in front of a foreign consulate without verifiable information. Any hesitation would've been natural with the risk of international incident.
Even if they believed the call from Noriko, for all they know it could have been one of the many consulates in Japan or even the Embassy. Why didn't they set up roadblocks around the city as well.
Full 10 minutes my ass.

he took the kids on their way to school in fukoaka. i know the japanese are pretty tech advanced, but even they haven't been able to haven't quite perfected travel at eyeblink speed, so that would be the only logical consulate he could have gotten to. given that he's american, the kids were taken from america, car gps systems often have tracking devices, as do cell phones, it would not have been hard to figure out where he was going. the j-fuzz might resemble the keystone kops quite often, but they're not that dumb.

noriko probably did call the police and told them that she thinks that he was taking them to the consulate. in which case, the police probably did call the consulate and tell them that the children had just been taken by savoie. while yes, technically, consulates and embassies are considered 'foreign soil', a much bigger international incident would have occurred if they had admitted entry to someone who had just committed a crime in japan, as they'd now be harbouring a criminal. the whole thing is so fucked up, and let's hope it changes in the future, but at the moment he grabbed those kids, he committed an act that is a crime in japan.

setting up road blocks would have just been silly. at the time, all he'd done is grab them off the street and run. trying to cross the border with them, now that'd be a different story.

[Mock Cockpit]

I've actually been past the US consulate in Fukuoka (at night, on a scooter, the wrong way down a one-way street, drunk) and there were J-cops actually on guard outside the consulate gates. Given this was about a week after 9/11 so it may not be the case now but it would hardly surprise me if the J-cops weren't always within 10 minutes of the consulate, if not actively patrolling it.

[Samurai_Jerk]

he committed an act that is a crime in japan.

Isn't that the whole issue though? Was it illegal in Japan or not? Everything we've read so far seems to say that it might not have been.

[Mike Oxlong]

I've actually been past the US consulate in Fukuoka (at night, on a scooter, the wrong way down a one-way street, drunk) and there were J-cops actually on guard outside the consulate gates. Given this was about a week after 9/11 so it may not be the case now but it would hardly surprise me if the J-cops weren't always within 10 minutes of the consulate, if not actively patrolling it.

Yes, the gates of other US consulates in Japan are also guarded by Japanese police, and have been for some time. I wonder if there was a method to Savoie's madness, however. Nothing short of a stunt like this would have focused as much international attention on the broader issue. "It is a far, far better thing..."

[Samurai_Jerk]

By the way, if the consulate was really in collusion with Savoie, I hope he has some proof.

Does anyone know if there is a country in the world whose embassies and consulates actually got to bat for their people when they get in trouble? It seems like every story I read regardless of the country the embassies either do nothing for their citizens or actively screw them.

[sublight]

Thinking about the J-cops outside the embassies...

At the US embassy in Tokyo, the cops (all Japanese) are hyper-paranoid. If you walk on the sidewalk next to the wall of the embassy (that is, outside the embassy on public property), a cop will come running up yelling at you to walk on the other side of the street. When my co-worker was going there to get his kid a passport, he cut across the intersection in front since both streets were showing walk signs, and immediately got stopped and grilled by one of the cops who ordered him to go back and cross properly.

If I came sprinting up to the gate with two kids under my arm, I'd be surprised if they didn't tackle me right there regardless of whether they'd been warned in advance.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Does anyone know if there is a country in the world whose embassies and consulates actually got to bat for their people when they get in trouble? It seems like every story I read regardless of the country the embassies either do nothing for their citizens or actively screw them.

I've never heard of any good, that's for sure.
I know that when I was in real strife, my embassy was like tits on a bull.

[Mulboyne]

Does anyone know if there is a country in the world whose embassies and consulates actually got to bat for their people when they get in trouble? It seems like every story I read regardless of the country the embassies either do nothing for their citizens or actively screw them.

Connected to this abduction issue, some US left-behind parents have claimed that Japanese embassies have been prepared to issue passports to children at the request of only the Japanese parent instead of requiring signatures of both parents.

[Mock Cockpit]

Connected to this abduction issue, some US left-behind parents have claimed that Japanese embassies have been prepared to issue passports to children at the request of only the Japanese parent instead of requiring signatures of both parents.

Both my kids were issued Japanese passports with the permission of only their mother. I specifically asked her about this as to get their Aussie ones she had to sign off on it literally. She said that to get a kid's passport issued only requires the consent of one parent. Interestingly too there was no special procedure I had to undergo when I took them out of Japan last year for a holiday.

[xenomorph42]

TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- An American father jailed in Tokyo has been harshly treated in the Japanese prison system, his attorney said Monday.


Christopher Savoie is in jail in Japan after trying to get back his son, Isaac, and daughter, Rebecca.

Christopher Savoie -- accused of trying to kidnap his children after his ex-wife took them to Japan -- is being held without trial, interrogated without an attorney present and denied needed medical treatment, according to attorney Jeremy Morley.

Savoie has also been exposed to sleep deprivation and denied private meetings with attorneys, said Morley in a statement. He said the way his client has been treated amounts to "torture."

Japanese officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Savoie, 38, a Tennessee native and naturalized Japanese citizen, allegedly abducted his two children -- 8-year-old Isaac and 6-year-old Rebecca -- as his ex-wife walked them to school on September 28 in a rural town in southern Japan.

With the children, Savoie headed for the nearest U.S. consulate, in the city of Fukuoka, to try to obtain passports for them. Screaming at guards to let him in the compound, Savoie was steps away from the front gate but still standing on Japanese soil when he was arrested.

Savoie and his first wife, Noriko Savoie, were married for 14 years before their bitter divorce in January. The couple, both citizens of the United States and Japan, lived in Japan, but had moved to the United States before the divorce.

Noriko Savoie was given custody of the children and agreed to remain in the United States. Christopher Savoie had visitation rights. During the summer, she fled with the children to Japan, according to court documents. A U.S. court then granted Christopher Savoie sole custody.

Japanese law, however, recognizes Noriko Savoie as the primary custodian, regardless of the U.S. court order. The law there also follows a tradition of sole-custody divorces. When a couple splits, one parent typically makes a complete and life-long break from the children.

Complicating the matter further is the fact that the couple is still considered married in Japan because they never divorced there, police said Wednesday. And, Japanese authorities say, the children are Japanese and have Japanese passports.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Christopher Savoie is being held without trial, interrogated without an attorney present and denied needed medical treatment, according to attorney Jeremy Morley.
Savoie has also been exposed to sleep deprivation and denied private meetings with attorneys, said Morley in a statement. He said the way his client has been treated amounts to "torture."

Welcome to Japan, dude!

Unfortunately, this happens to every "suspect" detained in Japan. The Japanese authorities will laugh in this attorney's face, even more so as the detainee is a Japanese citizen. Dr. Savoie has gotta get himself a decent Japanese lawyer who knows how the system works.

[B][SIZE="1"]Edited because I'm still drunk...apologies...[/SIZE][/B]

[Ketou]

And now the Japanese will blame him and the foreign media for embarrassing them.

[BO-SENSEI]

SHOCKED, Shocked, well not that shocked.

Japanese officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

I bet! Even if you did contact them, what do you think they would say? "Dr. Savoie is being treated the same as all the other low-life criminals in Japan."

[james]

And now the Japanese will blame him and the foreign media for embarrassing them.

sidenote to mods: perhaps this thread should be merged with the original?

good on them. when it comes to certain issues, this country needs a massive public shaming. while it's a shitty situation all around for everyone involved, this incident has done more than anything recently to bring this issue to light in the foreign media, to expose the hypocrisy of the japanese courts and law-enforcement - ie: parental abuction is not a crime but is if you're 'not' japanese by race and of course the overall abysmal treatment and abuse of prisoners / detainees.

[nottu]

[Greji]

".....Japanese law, however, recognizes Noriko Savoie as the primary custodian, regardless of the U.S. court order. The law there also follows a tradition of sole-custody divorces. When a couple splits, one parent typically makes a complete and life-long break from the children.

Complicating the matter further is the fact that the couple is still considered married in Japan because they never divorced there, police said Wednesday. And, Japanese authorities say, the children are Japanese and have Japanese passports...."

This is getting interesting. If the police have made this determination, they may be in for some problems. If Japanese Law does not recognize the US Court Order, or divorce and they are still considered married in Japan, then there is no custody issue here and he has as much right to the children as the wife. As a Japanese citizen (if this is correct), he may have equal redress on false arrest.


The plot thickens..

[nottu]

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

sidenote to mods: perhaps this thread should be merged with the original?

good on them. when it comes to certain issues, this country needs a massive public shaming. while it's a shitty situation all around for everyone involved, this incident has done more than anything recently to bring this issue to light in the foreign media, to expose the hypocrisy of the japanese courts and law-enforcement - ie: parental abuction is not a crime but is if you're 'not' japanese by race and of course the overall abysmal treatment and abuse of prisoners / detainees.

I disagree it will have this effect. The Japanese media (Japanese in general?) will largely ignore the case, or give it only token coverage before forgetting it. The U.S. media will be the same, eventually. When Savoie is no longer news in a couple of weeks, the issue will return to the backburner until the next case comes along to spark righteous indignation from somewhere overseas.
There's no doubt this is a serious matter, but the number of people affected by child abductions is tiny and most people couldn't give a damn as it doesn't directly affect them.
The same goes for prison/detention conditions...it's not really a popular cause anywhere to plug for prisoners' rights. Japan has been copping flak for decades over its handling of prisoners. Has anything changed? Nothing more than the cosmetic.
You're right...these things should be exposed and improved. At the moment, though, I think you're looking at a likelihood equivalent to Shintaro Ishihara begging more foreign residents to come and live in Tokyo.
Nottu hit the nail on the head...people will get sick of it.

[Samurai_Jerk]

The Japanese should just classify him as an "enemy combatant" then anything they do would be fair game.

Seriously though, I've read several articles over the years that say typically in Japan the non custodial parent never sees his or her children again. However, every Japanese person I've asked about this says it's not true. I know only one parent gets custody by law but does anyone know how true it is that the other parent typically fucks off forever?

[nottu]

[Takechanpoo]

Whatever you gaijins are yelling, kidnapping is nothing but kidnapping.
And before divorce, this dude went back America with his wife and children only for a secret plan to do profitable divorce for him. Why don't you blame the meanness?

[omae mona]

Yes but then again he's a bigamist - either way he's a FG more than anyone posting here.

I suspect he is not legally a bigamist. Just the same as Japan does not recognize his overseas divorce from Noriko, I highly doubt they recognize the overseas marriage to the 2nd wife (which is certainly not registered in Japan either). I would find it odd if they recognized one and not the other. I think this "bigamy" issue is a red herring.

[Bucky]

Talk about fucked.

At Spencer Morrey's home, there are two constant sounds: His dad, Craig, murmuring, "You're okay, Spence. You're okay, buddy," and the sound of a machine clearing the toddler's airway.
Spencer Morrey, pictured with his father Craig, has severe cerebral palsy and requires 24-hour medical care.

Spencer Morrey, pictured with his father Craig, has severe cerebral palsy and requires 24-hour medical care.

Both sounds come every few minutes, in between hugs, tears and kisses.

Spencer has severe cerebral palsy and requires constant, 24-hour medical care.

In Japan, a country that lacks sufficient medical services for disabled children, the only person to care for Spencer is his father. Morrey says his wife left, overwhelmed by the strain of their son's medical condition.

Morrey has been forced to quit work to care for Spencer. The financial strain of living off his credit cards is adding to the stress of caring for a disabled child alone in a foreign country.