Signed on October 25, 1980, the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Abduction is an international treaty, the main purpose of which is to set forth a mechanism to have children returned to the country where they had been abducted from. Signatory nations have an obligation to return a child to his or her “habitual residence” once such a residence has been established, and that it has been confirmed that the child was wrongfully taken from it. According to Article 1 of the treaty, “The objects of the present Convention are: a) to secure the prompt return of children wrongfully removed to or retained in any Contracting State; and b) to ensure that rights of custody and of access under the law of one Contracting State are effectively respected in the other Contracting States.”

Each signatory nation is required to create a “Central Authority” to handle and expedite child custody claims. And, these Central Authorities are expected to work together to help accomplish the dual goals established in Article 1. Once a Central Authority finds that a sister nation did, in fact, grant custody to another parent, it is required to expedite the return of a child to that particular country. At the present, 81 nations have signed the treaty. Japan, however, is not one of those nations And, the perils of such a reality is not more readily apparent to anyone than Christopher Savoie, whose ex-wife, Nariko, abducted their two children in January 2009 and brought them back to Japan.

For seven years, the Savoies had lived together in Japan. Last February, they moved to Tennessee, but the marriage soured soon after, and they divorced. In January of this year, Nariko took their two young children to Japan, with a court’s permission, to Japan for a vacation. However, she never returned to America, which she was required to do. Because of this, Mr. Savoie was granted sole custody of their two children. If Japan were a party to the treaty, Mr. Savoie could have quickly filed a petition with Japan’s Central Authority, and the matter would have been handled judicially. However, since Japan is not a member of the treaty, Mr. Savoie did not possess any this legal recourse to regain custody of his children. After exhausting legal channels and political contacts, he flew to Japan and took matters in his own hands. On one particular day, he tried to take his children to the American consulate as they were walking home from school. As he ran with daughter in his arms and his son ran alongside them, Mr. Savoie was arrested by Japanese police before he and his children could reach the consulate. And, he was imprisoned for over two weeks.

While Mr. Savoie was eventually released, this crisis exemplifies the need for Japan and other nations to immediately become signatories to the treaty. Too many people see Japan and other nations as safe havens for child abduction. According to a 2005 Japanese report, in 80 percent of custody cases, the child’s mother was awarded sole custody. Such a reality coupled with Japan’s refusal to adopt the treaty makes it extremely difficult for non-Japanese fathers to regain custody of their children when they are taken to Japan. Although some signatory countries, like Brazil and Spain, have not always followed the procedures set forth in the convention, the majority of nations properly and judiciously try to enforce the treaty. We hope the Japanese government signs on to the treaty!