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| Nov. 6, 2006-Capitol Hill |
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| Apr. 27, 2007 PHOTOS |
| 9/17/07 Kyodo Article |
Welcome to the home page of Children's Rights Council of Japan! Feb. 26, 2008 News Flash: ABC News has just released an online article about the international child abduction issue in Japan, at the following link: http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=4342760&page=1 If you haven't done so yet, please read the Kyodo News article released on September 17, 2007--click link on left. |
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Children's Rights Council of Japan Contact: crcjapan@yahoo.com, 276-637-3799 (U.S.) ---NEWS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE--- May 21, 2007 Prime Minister Abe Greeted by Japanese International Child Abduction Conference and Candlelight Vigil Chris Gulbraa, U.S. Abducted Child Recovered from Japan, Speaks Out Publicly Children's Rights Council of Japan (www.crcjapan.com) held a press conference on April 27 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. coinciding with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Washington, D.C. for meetings with President Bush. The purpose of the press conference was to alert the public about the Japanese government's long-standing refusal to cooperate with other countries in international child abduction cases. For the U.S. alone it is estimated that every year there are 100 or more new cases of U.S. citizen children who are abducted to and/or retained in Japan. The press conference, as well as a candlelight vigil held at the Embassy of Japan later that day, were organized by Walter Benda, co-founder of Children's Rights Council of Japan. Participants at the press conference included U.S. parents Walter Benda, Patrick Braden, Mike Gulbraa, and Paul Toland, all having American children abducted to and/or retained in Japan. Another parent, David Brian Thomas, spoke to the audience from Tokyo via a teleconference call. Family members of children being held in Japan as well as two other American parents with child access problems concerning Japan were in the audience. David L. Levy, J.D., CEO of Children's Rights Council (www.CRCkids.org) gave the introductory remarks, At the end of the conference, Mr. Levy became the inaugural signatory for a petition CRC of Japan has developed, calling upon Japan to cooperate on international child abduction issues. Chris Gulbraa, who may be the only American child abducted to Japan to return home, spoke about the challenges he faced as an abducted child in Japan, and the difficulticies encountered trying to flee from Japan. Other speakers included John Crouch, J.D., of Crouch and Crouch, and Jessica Sarra of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (www.icmec.org). Members of the U.S. State Department attended as observers, but no one from the Japanese government was in attendance (an invitation was sent to Ambassador Kato prior to the event). Documentary filmmaker and author Scott Mactavish filmed the conference as well as the candlelight vigil at the Japanese Embassy. Japan is the only G-7 industrialized country that is not a party to The Hague abduction convention, which is an important tool for those seeking the return of children abducted across international borders, or to exercise their rights of access to see them. Japanese law enforcement and social service agencies do not enforce custody orders, international arrest warrants, and extradition requests relating to international child abduction. Japan also indirectly supports international child abduction by not having a formal two-parent signature requirement for obtaining passports for minors. |
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NEW PDF FILE AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD (NOVEMBER 12, 2007):
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Children's Rights Council of Japan was founded by David Brian Thomas and Walter Benda on May 5, 1996, "Children's Day" in Japan. We are a volunteer child advocacy organization, offering information and resources for children's rights issues in Japan, focusing on children of divorce, separation, or born out of wedlock. With members in Japan as well as overseas, CRC of Japan is the first international chapter of Children's Rights Council of Hyattsville, Maryland, a United States 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Using a parent's point of view, we seek to provide information, networking and support for children, parents and other family members facing issues in Japan. CRC of Japan may be able to help in matters pertaining to the Japanese family court system and the Japanese higher court and appeals systems, as well as cases in Japan of child abduction/kidnapping by family members, denial of visitation/access rights, child custody, divorce and separation, and child/spousal abuse. We are also working to change the Japanese system to make it more amenable to the concept of "the best parent is both parents," so that children of broken homes have equal access to their fathers and mothers. Children's Rights Council of Japan is a volunteer organization. Our expenses, for the most part, are paid out of our own pockets. If you would like to support our efforts, please consider becoming a member or making a purchase from our online gift shop, via the links shown on this page. We appreciate your support. |
OTHER DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD (PDF FILES) | ||||||
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