U.S. warns Japan of effect of custody treaty on N. Korea abductions

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TOKYO, Feb. 7 Kyodo -
A senior U.S. government official has warned Japan that its failure to join an
international treaty on child custody may have adverse effects on Washington's
assistance to Tokyo in trying to resolve the issue of North Korea's abductions
of Japanese nationals, diplomatic sources said Saturday.
Kurt Campbell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific
affairs, made the remarks to senior Japanese Foreign Ministry officials during
his visit to Japan in early February and strongly urged the Japanese government
to become a party to the treaty, the sources said.
The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is
aimed at preventing one of the parents in a failed international marriage from
taking their child across national borders against an existing child custody
arrangement.
The U.S. government has urged Japan to join the treaty due to an increasing
incidence of Japanese parents ''abducting'' their children to Japan even though
their spouses of different nationality have custody over the children in the
United States.
Other countries such as Britain and France are also stepping up their calls on
Japan to join the international convention.
Japan has been largely reluctant to do so, with a senior Foreign Ministry
official saying, ''It does not suit Japanese culture to treat parents, who have
brought back their children to the country, as criminals.''
But the government has begun considering the possibility of becoming a party to
the treaty in response to the urgings from other countries.
According to the sources, Campbell explained to Japanese officials that taking
children from those who have custody over them is called ''abduction'' in the
United States and criticism against Japan over such cases is increasing in the
country.
He noted that there is something in common in the sorrows felt by Japanese
people whose children were abducted by North Korea and by Americans whose
children were taken away by their Japanese spouses, the sources said.
While reaffirming that the U.S. administration and Congress have made clear
their positions on seeking a resolution of North Korea's abductions of
Japanese, Campbell expressed hope that the Japanese government would give
consideration to the child custody issue so as not to damage this willingness
to support Japan.
Japanese officials responded that they need to think carefully about the
question of whether to join the treaty while keeping in mind Japanese public
opinion, but the U.S. side was not convinced, the sources said.
Late last month, Campbell met in Washington with about 30 people seeking to see
their children who have apparently been ''abducted'' by their Japanese spouses
and promised them that he will express his concerns over the situation to the
Japanese government.
The issue drew attention last year when a man from the United States was
arrested in Japan after trying to take his children back from his divorced
Japanese wife, who allegedly took the children from the United States to Japan
against a U.S. court decision.
==Kyodo
2010-02-07 21:16:09