Exclusive: Prominent Japanese politicians have labelled the country’s sole custody system an embarrassment and appealed to Australia to raise the issue publicly in Japan
revealed that Japanese police have routinely ignored Interpol missing person notices and do not enforce visitation orders.
“In lots of cases, police won’t work because it’s very, very usual for the parents to abduct a child and leave their homes,” he said.Describing the situation as an “embarrassment” for Japan, Shibayama said the mood had shifted within the Liberal Democratic Party towards reforming the system that gives one parent total control over a child’s future. Sole custody is often awarded to the parent who was last with the child, triggering a race to abduct them first.
Umemura and Shibayama urged Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to raise the issue publicly in Japan.and Australia is an important country for Japan in many ways,” said Umemura. “It’s unfortunate that we have this hovering over our good relationship at a time when geopolitics is so important.”“They push it down the road, they push it down to the next person,” she said. “I am also a mother myself. My heart breaks for the parents and children.
The Australian government has lodged a submission with the Japanese government’s ongoing review of the system, urging them to change their laws. Foreign Minister Penny Wong signed off on the submission, but she has been reluctant to criticise the Japanese government publicly.
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