1.3 Hague Convention

Currently, the Japanese government only allows one parent to have custody of children after getting divorced. There have been a number of problems for the non-custodial parents gaining access to the their children because Japan has not joined The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction yet.

I found a similar article about Japan's plan to join the convention in the Japan Times website.
Title: Japan to join Heugue child-custody treaty in '11
URL: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100815a1.html

In the article in Japan Today, Prime Minister Naoto Kan will relay Japan's policy on the problem between parents at the summit in late May in Deauville, France. The Hague Convention sets out the ways to protect children in failed international marriages. Some people are worried that it can create more dangerous situation for children of abusive parents.

The Japan Times shows that the government will develop the law in line with The Hague Convention. The government also judged that it is necessary to resolve pressure from the USA and several European countries to join The Hague Convention as soon as possible. There are differences in the legal systems between Japan and other signatory nations to treat children of divorced parents. Because the situation is so complicated, the Japanese government has not determined when to join the convention yet.

I think that it will take a long time to join the Hague Convention. Some people criticize the convention saying that it is responsible for creating disadvantages for Japanese parents after getting divorced with non-Japanese, because abusive parents will be able to commit violent actions to their children. I do not think that Japan can join the convention, because I think that it takes a long time to revise the laws relating to family life. Some members of the Diet object to joining the convention because of the disadvantages for Japanese parents who take their children back to Japan.