Hatoyama appears positive about ratifying child custody convention+

TOKYO, Feb. 25 Kyodo - Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama suggested on Thursday that he is positively considering Japan's accession to an international convention to deal with problems that arise when failed international marriages result in children wrongfully being taken to Japan by one parent.

''Now that the world is beginning to regard Japan as a peculiar country, it is
important to draw a conclusion as soon as possible regarding the Hague
Convention to show that that is not the case, and I so instructed
(ministers),'' Hatoyama told reporters.
The prime minister met with Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and Justice Minister
Keiko Chiba at his office earlier in the day to discuss the matter.
Complaints are growing over cases in which a Japanese parent, often a mother,
brings a child to Japan without the consent of the foreign parent, or
regardless of custody determination in other countries, and denies the other
parent access to the child.
''The world is paying a great deal of attention to the so-called child
abductions,'' Hatoyama said at the parliament building. ''The government must
quickly pave the way for a resolution.''
But the prime minister declined to say when ratification could occur, stating
only that a ratification proposal would not be ready during the current
parliamentary session set to end June 16.
The convention provides a procedure for the prompt return of such ''abducted''
children to their habitual country of residence and protects parental access
rights.
Of the Group of Eight major powers, Japan and Russia have yet to ratify the
convention.
==Kyodo