Foreign Dad's Story Of Successful Custody Battle

[Mulboyne]

Japan Times: Battling a broken system
In July, Tokyo's family court granted me, an American, physical custody (kangoken) of my 13-year-old daughter exactly 120 days after she was abducted by my Japanese wife, a lifelong public servant employed as a teacher at a state school in Tokyo. This just may be the first time that Japan's family court has awarded a foreign father custody of a Japanese child after a successful abduction by the child's Japanese mother. The times they are a-changin'. Or are they?...more...

[Ketou]

Interesting story.
As usual..a system rampant with bureaucratic abuse.

[Wagamama]

Been there, almost did that. Fortunately, we divorced before we had a kid. I could see something like that coming.

[Kagetsu]

Definantly an interesting read. Looking forward to the next part too.
Part of me wants to be ignorant of all of this... Surely not Japan.
But reality grips, and ultimately I'm not suprised, though I am suprised he managed to get through the bullshit there... there may be hope yet?
Even so, bullshit continues to rain down, hard.

[Mulboyne]

Part 2

[AML]

Wow, just wow....

What is someone supposed to do if your child is kidnapped by the Japanese parent?

Its scary since things here are so barbaric and will always favor the Jp parent.

Im sure that for every successful case like this one, there are probably 100 cases where they foreigner looses custody. (right or wrong)

Right now if I had a kid and things went wrong with the wife, chances are I would make a run for the Embassy.

Or get on a plane and leave.

What are you supposed to do?

[Cyka UchuuJin]

Japan Times: Battling a broken system
In July, Tokyo's family court granted me, an American, physical custody (kangoken) of my 13-year-old daughter exactly 120 days after she was abducted by my Japanese wife, a lifelong public servant employed as a teacher at a state school in Tokyo. This just may be the first time that Japan's family court has awarded a foreign father custody of a Japanese child after a successful abduction by the child's Japanese mother. The times they are a-changin'. Or are they?...more...

hmmm. wonder if that american guy in tennessee (someone please remind me his name) can use this as a precedent for his own situation.

[Greji]

hmmm. wonder if that american guy in tennessee (someone please remind me his name) can use this as a precedent for his own situation.

The legal system of any normal country would consider it, but the guy you're referencing (I can't remember his name either) had only US Court law behind him and none of the Japanese situations in this latest case. Japan's normal answer is that they only consider the domestic situation, meaning in Japan.

[BigInJapan]

hmmm. wonder if that american guy in tennessee (someone please remind me his name) can use this as a precedent for his own situation.

You're referring to Christopher Savoie, and after his incident last year where he snatched the kids on their way to school, raced them to the U.S. consulate in Fukuoka to get passports, and got busted outside the gate by the local keystones (wife called 110).
I think it's safe to say he is now persona non grata in Japan.
Although if memory serves me, he has done a Debito and changed over to Japanese citizenship. Hmm, wonder how that will work out.

Stories published at that time:
CNN
Japan Times

[Cyka UchuuJin]

You're referring to Christopher Savoie, and after his incident last year where he snatched the kids on their way to school, raced them to the U.S. consulate in Fukuoka to get passports, and got busted outside the gate by the local keystones (wife called 110).
I think it's safe to say he is now persona non grata in Japan.
Although if memory serves me, he has done a Debito and changed over to Japanese citizenship. Hmm, wonder how that will work out.

Stories published at that time:
CNN
Japan Times

here's a whole bunch of blah blah about child abduction in japan on wikipedia. if you scroll past all the legalese, there's some pretty scary examples of abductions, both by japanese mothers AND fathers. including a dutch guy who RE-abducted his kids.

it also says savoie has done a debito.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_child_abduction_in_Japan

edit: just found this too. the 'translation' is pretty damn funny.
http://aroomofourown.wordpress.com/2010/05/10/christopher-savoie-still-whining/

[Cyka UchuuJin]

good ole' chris seems to be quite the red blooded amerikan man...studies judo, has contacts in CNN, and goes out shooting big motherfuckin rifles with uncle dean and x. maybe noriko had a point about not wanting the kids growing up with that.

http://twitter.com/cjsavoie/status/20984373694

[let`s talk]

Japan Times: Battling a broken system
In July, Tokyo's family court granted me, an American, physical custody (kangoken) of my 13-year-old daughter exactly 120 days after she was abducted by my Japanese wife, a lifelong public servant employed as a teacher at a state school in Tokyo. This just may be the first time that Japan's family court has awarded a foreign father custody of a Japanese child after a successful abduction by the child's Japanese mother. The times they are a-changin'. Or are they?...more...

Is it your article too, a week later? http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20100928zg.html
Congratulations and I hope you are not the last daddy who succeeded.

[Mulboyne]

Looking through his tweets, he recently gave testimony to the TN Senate-Court of the Judiciary Study Committee over his complaints about the judge in his case. It's not a court hearing, he's explaining to an oversight committee how his complaint has not been adequately addressed.

http://tnga.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=107&clip_id=3304

It kicks off 2:57:00 into the link.

[Cyka UchuuJin]

Looking through his tweets, he recently gave testimony to the TN Senate-Court of the Judiciary Study Committee over his complaints about the judge in his case. It's not a court hearing, he's explaining to an oversight committee how his complaint has not been adequately addressed.

http://tnga.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=107&clip_id=3304

It kicks off 2:57:00 into the link.

i can't ffwd on my player and can't be bothered for 3 hours of it. what was the highlights? is he as whinging as people make him out to be?

[Greji]

maybe noriko had a point about not wanting the kids growing up with that.

Hell, if it's Noriko, hard telling who the real father might be.....

[Cyka UchuuJin]

Hell, if it's Noriko, hard telling who the real father might be.....