British Children Abducted to or within Japan – Supplementary Written Evidence (JTN0032)

Summary

1. In our original submission we provided statistics on the estimated 1400 British Children abducted to or within Japan. We explained how this is caused by the Japanese state ignoring its freely assumed international treaty obligations, obligations respected by the UK. The EU has raised this issue publicly with Japan through its recent resolution.

2. We told you the trade deal creates a simple equation: more trade = more connections between Japanese and British nationals = more relationships = more children = more victims.

3. The trade deal was agreed, which we welcome, but the UK government still has no policy to help the estimated 1400 abducted British children, they remain abandoned by the UK.

4. The UK does recognise the need to prevent future abductions. In a recent letter the British government said: “we have reviewed our engagement with Japan and agree that we must do more to raise issues on children’s rights.” (see attachment 4 of letter below). However, rather than doing more the government’s letter states it plans to continue doing the same.

5. The government says it plans to continue private conversations with Japan on this issue. Private conversations have been going on for over 25 years without result as set out in the detailed chronology also provided in our original submission. Firmer action is required.

6. The government says it wishes to use trade to improve people’s lives. The trade deal is an unmissable opportunity for the UK to help thousands of children deprived of basic rights by the Japanese state.

7. The level of human suffering caused by this issue is immeasurable and an inevitable consequence of the trade deal is the suffering will increase. Members of our organisation see their children’s British identity and all connections with their British family extinguished all with the support of the Japanese state.

8. We do not wish to simply highlight the problem. We have also set out the solution as described in the letter below to the Minister of State for Asia sent on 20 October 2020.

9. Our concern remains that the British Government lacks the political will to do anything other than pay lip service to this issue. It is the lack of meaningful action that has allowed this issue to continue for decades.

10.                     Please read our proposed solution in the letter and hold the government to account on the meaningful action required. Experienced members of the civil service are well aware of the need to properly address this issue, the barrier remains the lack of political support for taking the necessary but unpleasant actions.

26 October 2020

Below is the letter Sent to the Minister of State for Asia on 20 October 2020. The letter is a response to the Minister’s letter on 24 September 2020 (included in Attachment 4)

Dear Minister of State for Asia

Thank you for the response.

We welcome the Government’s recognition that it needs to do more to address child rights in Japan. However, your letter states that you plan to continue doing what the UK and others have already been doing for the last 25 years without result.

The full history of negotiations between Japan and other developed countries on child rights, provided in our last email, makes it clear Japan is negotiating in bad faith. Japan continues to use various tactics to make you believe that it is engaging, but at the same time does everything possible to maintain the status quo. We should not forget, when Japan so desires, it has the institutions and structures to apply complex trade treaties, human rights and rule of law.

Albert Einstein is often credited with the quote that “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”. Private conversations with Japan on child rights have been going on for over 25 years, as highlighted by the plight of our children they are ineffective.

Japan has entered international treaties regulating child rights and international police co-operation, but continues to ignore its obligations. The British government needs to shift discussions from Japan providing further explanation of its system and promises of future tweaks to its laws to the practical measures Japan can take immediately to alleviate the current suffering of children. Importantly Japan should be told until those practical measures are in place there will be consequences. The UK also needs to be bolder and more creative in exercising the state powers it has to help British children whose human rights are being ignored, this includes publicly stating the truth.

Now more than ever Britain, as a liberal democracy, must stand up for liberal values. Britain has an obligation to call child abuse, child abuse. If Britain turns its back on liberal values such as child rights Britain’s standing in the world will only diminish. Your current policy on this issue is based on a number of false assumptions a new policy on Japan child rights is needed to address this issue.

The following five actions should be taken by the UK government.

1.               Make a public, official complaint to Japan that highlights the UK’s commitment to; accurately exposing the truth, standing up for human rights and holding partners to account.

Japan wishes to project its soft power globally it finds its family law system embarrassing and tries to hide the truth. Shaming Japan by documenting the facts is a powerful tool at the disposal of the UK government.

The complaint should include reference to the following

a.               Japan’s outdated and insufficient laws are allowing the British identity of abducted British-Japanese children to be extinguished.

b.               The Japanese legal system offers no legal solution for abducted children. Instead Japanese institutions, including courts are used to legalize abductions and child abuse. Japan’s legal system has not resolved even one abduction. There are parents who are still married with full legal rights but arrested when they try to see their children.

c.               Japan’s outdated system is doing psychological damage to British-Japanese children. Instead both Japan and the UK should be making additional effort to unlock the full potential of British-Japanese children and the benefits that will give the UK-Japan relationship.

d.               The Japanese state continues to harbour abducted children and unless it stops the UK government will be forced to enact proportionate measures against Japan in order to protect the laws that have been created to stop child abduction and ensure child rights.

e.               The letter should end by requesting that the Japanese government commit to ensuring British-Japanese children receive the same rights and opportunities in Japan that they receive in the UK. The rights are based on international treaties signed by both the UK and Japan. The UK should state that it will not recognise Japanese court rulings where there are clear breaches of British children’s human rights and will identify Japanese officials involved in human rights abuses.

2.               Instigate measures within the UK’s powers to help British children that have been abducted. We are not asking for anything that offends international law or Japanese sovereignty. These include:

a.               Actively helping British children who have lost their British identity regain it and understand their full identity.  The British government should highlight to the Japanese government that Britain has a duty to protect its citizens, and the outdated Japanese system is not doing this. Therefore, the UK would like to start arranging for specific Japanese child psychologists to see British children in order to provide counselling so as to minimise the suffering caused (to be paid for by British parents).

b.               The UK government currently has no policy and no plan to help British children already abducted, one needs to be developed. The UK government should recognise that addressing current suffering will prevent future suffering. Past policy failed as it focussed on how to enact future improvement rather than addressing current suffering, this has allowed Japan to continue to put off confronting this issue.

c.               Start ensuring abducted British Children have their own legal representation. We understand that Japan is starting to develop specialist child lawyers, although a functional legal system and proper training remain a constraint on the effectiveness of this approach.

d.               Formally request Japan to partner with the UK in establishing a scheme to help British-Japanese children. This should be tied to the trade deal and desire by both countries to continue to develop closer ties.

Good parents care about the education of their children. The Japanese government formally recognises the importance of Japanese school children learning English. Many British citizens are employed privately teaching English to Japanese children. Additionally, many Japanese parents, who are in the privileged position to afford to, send their children overseas to study English including on homestays in the UK.

Special encouragement should be given to British-Japanese children to take up study courses and events run by the British Embassy. (This would be funded by the British Parent). Currently, there are non-Japanese teachers working in the Japanese education system but not allowed to teach or spend time with their own children.

e.               British Children Abducted To Or Within Japan is the best placed British organisation to help British victims. The UK Authorities should advise British citizens who are concerned their children may be abducted or have been abducted to contact us.

3.               Commit to engaging with British parents of children abducted to or within Japan and monitoring progress of this issue based on the progress of their cases not on abstract discussions and promises made by Japanese officials, the UK’s use of the latter approach has led to it being misinformed.  The UK government needs to commit to monitoring and measuring the amount of contact between British parents and their children and use this as the key measure of progress on this issue when discussing concerns with Japan. An outcome focussed approach is now widely used within British professions and has proven far more effective at raising standards.

4.               Update the UK’s travel advice to objectively describe the reasons why once a child is taken in Japan a parent has no chance of having a relationship with the child unless the abductor permits it. This is the primary issue and it is not reflected at all in the current description of Japan. It is the issue facing all British parents contacting you. Currently the UK is more concerned about offending Japan than documenting and exposing that the Japanese state harbours abducted children. The UK should not fear speaking the truth or any offence caused by the objectively observed facts.

5.               Utilizing Britain’s presidency of the G7 summit next year, include the issue of child rights on the G7 agenda. Japan is the only G7 member where child abduction is legalized by state institutions and children run the risk of having the British part of their identity extinguished.

Please state whether you agree or reject each proposal, your reasons for your position and where you reject the proposal your alternative suggestion for achieving the desired outcome.

We support the greater UK-Japan relations created by the recent trade deal. You knew of the abduction issue before signing the trade deal. But the trade deal creates a simple equation:  more trade = more connections = more relationships = more children = more victims. Only actions will stop this inevitability, not polite discussions.

You state in your letter that the trade deal gives you a stronger bilateral relationship with Japan and that the British Government plans to utilize this.  Each action we have requested is both legally workable and premised on existing treaty obligations freely assumed by both Japan and the UK, although only respected in the UK. The remaining hurdle to making progress is whether the UK government has the political will to take the bold, proactive actions needed to address this issue, instead of continuing the policies that have failed to protect British Children over the last 25 years.

Finally, it is important to highlight that the suffering caused by Japan’s outdated system affects thousands of children of all nationalities. Although we are engaging with you on your duty to protect British citizens, this is an opportunity for the UK to show global leadership and help hundreds of thousands of children.

The Prime Minister recently talked about the ambition for a Global Britain that safeguards British interests and values overseas. He discussed his overriding aim to bring this country’s strengths and expertise to bear on the world’s biggest problems. What greater British value can there be than protecting British children from having their British identity extinguished? The Prime Minister’s policy objectives need to be applied to child rights in Japan.  

Attachments

Attachment 1 Introduction to organisation British Children Abducted To Or Within Japan

Attachment 2 Further information on the points raised in your letter

Attachment 3 Letter sent to All MP’s providing a detailed background of this issue

Attachment 4: Letter from Minister of State for Asia

Attachment 1: Introduction to British Children Abducted To Or Within Japan

The newly formed not for profit organisation British Children Abducted To Or Within Japan, provided a detailed account on all aspects of this issue (which we have attached). We do not feel there is any value in elaborating on the details any further, although we are happy to provide any specific information you may need. Instead we would like our discussions to focus on the implementation of the required actions and outcomes. However, below we provide further background in response to the key points raised in your letter.

British Children Abducted To Or Within Japan now has over 40 members. I (Adam Perry) am one of the directors. My background, training and experience working as a solicitor, mainly internationally, including many years in Japan has given me the skills needed to articulate this issue from the perspective of left behind parents.

Our organisation encounters many British parents affected by this issue who are vulnerable and unable to communicate their experiences and frustrations. Consequently, they are trampled all over by the Japanese system and UK authorities. Many of these people desperately need help dealing with the unimaginably traumatic experience of having their children abducted. There are a number of known suicides linked to this issue. Mental health challenges are faced by all victims and the damage done to the children (British children that the UK should be protecting) immeasurable and probably irreversible.

The objective of our organisation is to help the British Government implement the solutions set out above.

The UK government has known of this issue for over a quarter of a century. The UK’s strategy over the last quarter of a century was to pretend a legal solution is available to parents and to discuss the issue with Japan behind closed doors, 25 years on nothing has changed. However, the number of people affected by this issue has continued to grow and will grow even more following the trade deal.

The most recent letter from the Minister for Asia suggests the UK has no plans of changing its approach to this issue.

However, there is a change amongst victims, British parents of children abducted to or within Japan are not only more numerous, we are more organised and more motivated than ever to help the UK government move away from its failed approach and bring about a solution. We acknowledge Japan is a sovereign nation and we will never ask for anything that is impossible, unlawful or disproportionate to what the Japanese state is doing.

Attachment 2: Further information on the points raised in your letter

Below we address the main seven points set out in your letter. We look forward to supplementing this letter with our presentation and have already contacted you about scheduling a date for the presentation.

1.               Description of the Japanese legal system

The Japanese family law system empowers the abductor by giving them an overriding discretion to decide the outcome. Children are treated as mere chattels and the other parent as an inconvenience. Any rules, judgement or process are ineffective due to the abductor’s overriding discretion and state support for this discretion.

The realities of the system are not captured by the UK’s updated advice. The Japanese legal system gives complete support to the parent who gains physical custody of the child on separation.  All cases show if your child is taken there is no chance you will gain meaningful contact with your child for the rest of their childhood.

The UK’s key misunderstanding is that Japan has a sophisticated family law system, which is different but can be navigated with a skilled Japanese lawyer who can influence the outcome. The reality is the entire system applies the following simple principle: the party that abducts decides.

Britain needs to be prepared to tell it like it is when it comes to describing the Japanese system. Instead the current advice states in very vanilla language “Japanese family law is very different from UK law”. Japan craves soft power it is desperate to project a positive, modern image of Japan to the world, its outdated legal system is not positive or modern. British values demand that the truth is reported, the British government should not be scared of writing the objective facts because it may offend Japanese bureaucrats. Victims of abduction want to see the issues we face included in public statements by the UK government. Shortly after this letter we shall issue some drafting.

2.               The UK is allowing Japan to frame the issue

Japan is negotiating in bad faith. To overcome this there is a need for the UK to start applying objective assessment of the situation and measurement of the improvement from the perspective of children. When such assessment is applied it is clear there has been zero improvement over the last 25 years.

However, Japan has continually created optimism, it signed treaties, it changed laws, yet nothing changed. It is beyond naive that after reading the chronology that we already provided (https://bit.ly/chronologynoaction) you give any credibility to Japan’s Ministry of Justice’s claim they are considering reviewing “joint custody laws” in order to comply with its freely assumed international treaty obligations signed up to many years ago. Japan built one of the world’s most successful export-based economies, Japan knows how to do treaties very well.

Rather than talking about the undefined concept of “joint custody”, the UK should be talking about the specific treaty obligations which the UK provides to all Japanese nationals living in the UK but Japan doesn’t give to British nationals living in Japan. Here is one example:

“UNCRC Article 8

1.               States Parties undertake to respect the right of the child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name and family relations as recognized by law without unlawful interference.

2.               Where a child is illegally deprived of some or all of the elements of his or her identity, States Parties shall provide appropriate assistance and protection, with a view to speedily re-establishing his or her identity.”

British Courts and authorities ensure that Japanese-British children have their Japanese identity and family relations preserved and those that try to illegally deprive a child of their identity are stopped. However, it is the experience of every British parent that Japanese courts and authorities allow the British identity of their children and family relations to be almost entirely extinguished. Shouldn’t the basis for UK-Japan relations be equality?

There are many other examples of obligations under treaties freely assumed by both Britain and Japan where Japanese citizens benefit but British citizens do not. Where this is the case, as objectively viewed by Britain these should be listed in the travel advice. We are happy to provide a full list of examples.

3.               UK’s view that discussion in private are preferable to public statements

You have said that at this stage private advocacy of this issue will be more effective than a public statement. We would like to highlight that for 25 years this has not worked. Japan cares a great deal about its international reputation. Failing to publicly state the facts means that existing victims continue to suffer and increases the likelihood of future victims.

3.               Continued focus on Future improvement

Why not focus on continued failure? We have had our children abducted. We would like to see future improvement, but we are here to talk about the hundreds of British like ours already abducted, there are an estimated 1400 British children abducted to or within Japan.

Having carefully reviewed your response it appears the UK still has no policy for helping our children, they remain abandoned by the UK. You give us no hope. Not one parent has been successful in the Japanese legal system, there is no legal solution, we have Japanese legal advice supporting this. It’s not acceptable to abandon these children. A policy needs to be developed that recognises there is no legal solution and that ensures no British child is forgotten, at the moment you have a policy of closing the files of abducted children.

4.               The UK-Japan Trade Deal

The improved ties should not be wasted by continuing to address this issue with the same urgency as before. You knew when entering into this trade deal it would lead to the abduction of more British children if no action was taken, now action is required.

5.               Reunite

We do not wish to make an issue over Reunite. We are sure they do some fantastic work and have benefited many people. However, they refuse to answer any questions from us and even now work closely with Japanese lawyers who helped abduct British children and have been internationally criticised for promoting child abduction. British Children Abducted To Or Within Japan does not have a conflict of interests as we would never do work for Japanese bar associations or authorities. Additionally, we have specific knowledge of Japan and the Japanese system. Personally as a solicitor of the senior courts of England and Wales I have professional standards to abide to that govern my conduct which should give comfort to the UK authorities when recommending British Children Abducted To Or Within Japan to British citizens.

6.               Need to exhaust all legal avenues

We are quite cynical of your position that someone needs to exhaust all legal avenues. The Japanese system allows you to go round and round getting nowhere with no end. No one has ever been successful in the Japanese legal system for the reasons explained above.

By telling people they must follow the process you know that rather than dealing with hundreds of cases you will deal with much less. There is no legal solution available on this issue. We have even received advice from a Japanese lawyer that no legal solution exists to obtain contact with your children. Most lawyers will happily accept money to try what they know is doomed to fail because this is how they make a living.

We have examples where the Japanese parent has died and the living parent has still been unable to gain access. Japan is even refusing to fight cross border crime and help locate missing children. Interpol Yellow and Red Notices are simply ignored by Japanese authorities (on the principle the party that abducts decides everything) But Japan issues Interpol notices for fugitives it is seeking.

Additionally, Political action, not legal avenues, will bring about change. International conventions regulating the child abduction issue and a framework for international police co-operation are already in place. It is the responsibility of treaty signatories (our governments) and police authorities, not parents, to ensure compliance. For 25 years Japan has made excuses, whilst having no issue applying commercial treaties.

7.               You are unable to comment on individual cases

This is another method Japan uses to lead the conversation. We do not speak to you about individual cases for the sake of the individual case, we use them as examples of representative of what the Japanese system is actually like. UK authorities tend to talk about an abstract system which isn’t reflective of the reality and dismiss individual cases as exceptions. The result is you have a very skewed view of the reality, one created by the Japanese authorities. You must start listening to individual cases and accepting they are reflective of the system.

We are planning to conduct recorded face-face interviews with parents whose children have been abducted. We would like to start sharing these with you as we feel it will give you a greater understanding of the challenges faced.

Attachment 3: Letter sent by British Children Abducted To Or Within Japan to all MP’s providing a detailed background of this issue

Dear Mr Adams

I hope you are well.

As I am sure you agree, it is our obligation as a nation to protect our citizens, particularly the vulnerable. British children abducted to or within Japan are being treated by the Japanese legal system as property rather than humans, they are having their rights ignored and their British identity extinguished. 

Over 50 MPs were contacted by constituents affected by this issue, a number of MPs escalated the issue to the UK government. However, the UK government ignored our questions and has taken no action to address the human rights breaches affecting our children (rights enshrined in international treaties signed by both the UK and Japan).

We believe the trade deal being discussed with Japan offers an opportunity for the UK to show even when working on areas of mutual benefit we will not shy away from confronting our partners on issues where our values require it.

The purpose of this email is to provide the facts that show you that British values demand that we confront Japan, not only for the British children (which this email focusses on) but all the children affected by this issue, the majority being Japanese. Each statement made includes a hyper-link with the comprehensive and detailed analysis behind each statement. At the bottom of the email we have set out actions we ask from you. We appreciate you are very busy, the actions we ask from you require very little of your time but will have enormously positive consequences on the lives of many children.

1. Japan continues to allow the abduction of children. An estimated 1400 British children have been abducted to or within Japan. https://bit.ly/abductionstats

2.              British parents (and grandparents) continue to have no legally enforceable rights to see their children in Japan.https://bit.ly/visitationrights

3.              Japanese courts and its bar association do not support human rights or cooperation with the police and authorities of other countries. Both allow lawyers and judges to circumvent international treaties and norms, without consequence.https://bit.ly/LPrcompliance 

4.              Britain and its partners have been pressing Japan to create child rights for over 25 years. Japan policy of procrastination on this issue continues to be successful. https://bit.ly/chronologynoaction

5.              Those managing this issue within the UK government continue to repeat the excuses of Japanese lobbyists rather than engage in an honest and public conversation with the British victims on Japan’s continued failure to respect human rights.https://bit.ly/honestdiscussion

6.              The UK’s position on this important issue of child rights is affected by a concerning conflict of interests. https://bit.ly/conflictofinterests

7.              Japan is a G7 member, an economically advanced country with the resources and institutions to enforce its treaty obligations relating to human rights (UNCRC & Hague Convention), Japan chooses not to. https://bit.ly/JPchoice

8.              Politicians must be brave and speak up publicly for children in Japan who have no voice. Forwarding information to government ministers has not worked. https://bit.ly/speakupforchildrights

9.              It is precisely because we respect Japan as a leading member of the international community and G7 member that we should expect it to meet its treaty obligations, and be prepared to objectively assess whether it does and then confront Japan where it doesn’t as is the case with child rights. We would expect Japan to do the same to the UK.https://bit.ly/EJrelations

10.         Child rights are not the only issue of concern, you need to stand up for rule of law. If you accept that a G7 nation and great benefactor of the global rule-based order can pick and choose which treaties it follows, what message does it send to other nations? https://bit.ly/widerimplications

11.         Japan has breached its obligations to Britain under the joint declaration made by the UK and Japan when both enacted the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Child. Japan must be asked to treat Britain equally. Britain enforces its international treaty obligations meaning Japanese citizens do not fear either abduction of their children to or within the UK or that their children’s human rights will be abused in the UK. Why should British parents be expected to suffer these risks but not Japanese parents even though both countries entered into the same treaty? https://bit.ly/UKJequality

12.         The British government should stop using Brexit, COVID-19 and other excuses for inaction. The EU dealt with all the same issues as the UK and addressed the issue of child abduction/child rights in Japan passing a resolution on 16 June 2020. It is time for British MPs to live up to the expectations they set during Brexit; that they would be more effective outside the EU https://bit.ly/EUactionJPchildrights.

Action Required

1. Join the EU and US in publicly speaking up about this issue. We ask that any action you take is public. Private actions have proven ineffective. We want to create pressure for change, please raise this issue in parliament and on Twitter copying our organisation @british_to.

2.              Start a public debate. Here are 28 unanswered issues that have been raised with the UK authorities (multiple times) over the last year. MPs have sent these questions to the UK government, but responses have not been provided. Hold the government to account and force detailed answers to each issue https://bit.ly/paricularisedresponse.

3.              Take up our offer of a 15-minute presentation on this topic, followed by a 15 minute Q&A, become an informed decision maker on this topic and help bring about positive change for thousands of children.

Kind Regards

Peter Gordon Director

British Children Abducted To Or Within Japan

https://www.stopjapanchildabduction.org/

Representing the interests of British children that are temporarily lost but never forgotten

Attachment 4: Letter from Minister of State for Asia