"access rights recognized"

#3577940

20 December 2018

Vincent Fichot, a French Father attends a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on December 20, 2018. "Japan's Child Abduction Issue: Foreign parents want their custody and access rights recognized, and court rulings enforced" Child abduction and retention refers to the illegal removal of children from their habitual residence by a family member or their retention in contravention to the international law. In the past, foreign governments tried but failed to solve the hundreds of cases brought by their own citizens against Japanese nationals abducting children born from these international couples. Children's Rights Council, a non-profit organization, estimates there are 2,000 or more new cases in Japan every year as the number of international marriages increases. But this is far from being only an issue related to international marriages. Joint custody does not exist under the civil code in Japan, where most minors after separation or divorce lose contact with one parent. Even though in 2014, the country ratified the Hague Convention on International Child Abductions, which provides for an expeditious, almost automatic method to return a child abducted by a parent from one member country to another, foreign court rulings are seldom enforced. This happens because in Japan there is not a single law that prevents parents from abducting their own children or that obliges a parent to allow visitations. That legal blind spot fails to acknowledge the inalienable right of every child to have equal access to both parents, as stated in the UN Convention of the Rights of Child (art.9). Failure by a parent to abide by the court ruling is not seen as a criminal act – which in some countries brings immediate arrest and custody – but is tolerated to ensure the so-called "principle of continuity." To ward off criticism, the then Minister of Justice Yoko Kamikawa said last June that the country would overhaul its domestic laws to implement the H

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#3577942

20 December 2018

Vincent Fichot, a French Father attends a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on December 20, 2018. "Japan's Child Abduction Issue: Foreign parents want their custody and access rights recognized, and court rulings enforced" Child abduction and retention refers to the illegal removal of children from their habitual residence by a family member or their retention in contravention to the international law. In the past, foreign governments tried but failed to solve the hundreds of cases brought by their own citizens against Japanese nationals abducting children born from these international couples. Children's Rights Council, a non-profit organization, estimates there are 2,000 or more new cases in Japan every year as the number of international marriages increases. But this is far from being only an issue related to international marriages. Joint custody does not exist under the civil code in Japan, where most minors after separation or divorce lose contact with one parent. Even though in 2014, the country ratified the Hague Convention on International Child Abductions, which provides for an expeditious, almost automatic method to return a child abducted by a parent from one member country to another, foreign court rulings are seldom enforced. This happens because in Japan there is not a single law that prevents parents from abducting their own children or that obliges a parent to allow visitations. That legal blind spot fails to acknowledge the inalienable right of every child to have equal access to both parents, as stated in the UN Convention of the Rights of Child (art.9). Failure by a parent to abide by the court ruling is not seen as a criminal act – which in some countries brings immediate arrest and custody – but is tolerated to ensure the so-called "principle of continuity." To ward off criticism, the then Minister of Justice Yoko Kamikawa said last June that the country would overhaul its domestic laws to implement the H

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#3577944

20 December 2018

Vincent Fichot, a French Father attends a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on December 20, 2018. "Japan's Child Abduction Issue: Foreign parents want their custody and access rights recognized, and court rulings enforced" Child abduction and retention refers to the illegal removal of children from their habitual residence by a family member or their retention in contravention to the international law. In the past, foreign governments tried but failed to solve the hundreds of cases brought by their own citizens against Japanese nationals abducting children born from these international couples. Children's Rights Council, a non-profit organization, estimates there are 2,000 or more new cases in Japan every year as the number of international marriages increases. But this is far from being only an issue related to international marriages. Joint custody does not exist under the civil code in Japan, where most minors after separation or divorce lose contact with one parent. Even though in 2014, the country ratified the Hague Convention on International Child Abductions, which provides for an expeditious, almost automatic method to return a child abducted by a parent from one member country to another, foreign court rulings are seldom enforced. This happens because in Japan there is not a single law that prevents parents from abducting their own children or that obliges a parent to allow visitations. That legal blind spot fails to acknowledge the inalienable right of every child to have equal access to both parents, as stated in the UN Convention of the Rights of Child (art.9). Failure by a parent to abide by the court ruling is not seen as a criminal act – which in some countries brings immediate arrest and custody – but is tolerated to ensure the so-called "principle of continuity." To ward off criticism, the then Minister of Justice Yoko Kamikawa said last June that the country would overhaul its domestic laws to implement the H

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#3577946

20 December 2018

(L-R) Tommaso Perina, an Italian Father, Vincent Fichot, a French Father attend a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on December 20, 2018. "Japan's Child Abduction Issue: Foreign parents want their custody and access rights recognized, and court rulings enforced" Child abduction and retention refers to the illegal removal of children from their habitual residence by a family member or their retention in contravention to the international law. In the past, foreign governments tried but failed to solve the hundreds of cases brought by their own citizens against Japanese nationals abducting children born from these international couples. Children's Rights Council, a non-profit organization, estimates there are 2,000 or more new cases in Japan every year as the number of international marriages increases. But this is far from being only an issue related to international marriages. Joint custody does not exist under the civil code in Japan, where most minors after separation or divorce lose contact with one parent. Even though in 2014, the country ratified the Hague Convention on International Child Abductions, which provides for an expeditious, almost automatic method to return a child abducted by a parent from one member country to another, foreign court rulings are seldom enforced. This happens because in Japan there is not a single law that prevents parents from abducting their own children or that obliges a parent to allow visitations. That legal blind spot fails to acknowledge the inalienable right of every child to have equal access to both parents, as stated in the UN Convention of the Rights of Child (art.9). Failure by a parent to abide by the court ruling is not seen as a criminal act – which in some countries brings immediate arrest and custody – but is tolerated to ensure the so-called "principle of continuity." To ward off criticism, the then Minister of Justice Yoko Kamikawa said last June that the country would overh

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#3577948

20 December 2018

Vincent Fichot, a French Father attends a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on December 20, 2018. "Japan's Child Abduction Issue: Foreign parents want their custody and access rights recognized, and court rulings enforced" Child abduction and retention refers to the illegal removal of children from their habitual residence by a family member or their retention in contravention to the international law. In the past, foreign governments tried but failed to solve the hundreds of cases brought by their own citizens against Japanese nationals abducting children born from these international couples. Children's Rights Council, a non-profit organization, estimates there are 2,000 or more new cases in Japan every year as the number of international marriages increases. But this is far from being only an issue related to international marriages. Joint custody does not exist under the civil code in Japan, where most minors after separation or divorce lose contact with one parent. Even though in 2014, the country ratified the Hague Convention on International Child Abductions, which provides for an expeditious, almost automatic method to return a child abducted by a parent from one member country to another, foreign court rulings are seldom enforced. This happens because in Japan there is not a single law that prevents parents from abducting their own children or that obliges a parent to allow visitations. That legal blind spot fails to acknowledge the inalienable right of every child to have equal access to both parents, as stated in the UN Convention of the Rights of Child (art.9). Failure by a parent to abide by the court ruling is not seen as a criminal act – which in some countries brings immediate arrest and custody – but is tolerated to ensure the so-called "principle of continuity." To ward off criticism, the then Minister of Justice Yoko Kamikawa said last June that the country would overhaul its domestic laws to implement the H

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#3577950

20 December 2018

Vincent Fichot, a French Father attends a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on December 20, 2018. "Japan's Child Abduction Issue: Foreign parents want their custody and access rights recognized, and court rulings enforced" Child abduction and retention refers to the illegal removal of children from their habitual residence by a family member or their retention in contravention to the international law. In the past, foreign governments tried but failed to solve the hundreds of cases brought by their own citizens against Japanese nationals abducting children born from these international couples. Children's Rights Council, a non-profit organization, estimates there are 2,000 or more new cases in Japan every year as the number of international marriages increases. But this is far from being only an issue related to international marriages. Joint custody does not exist under the civil code in Japan, where most minors after separation or divorce lose contact with one parent. Even though in 2014, the country ratified the Hague Convention on International Child Abductions, which provides for an expeditious, almost automatic method to return a child abducted by a parent from one member country to another, foreign court rulings are seldom enforced. This happens because in Japan there is not a single law that prevents parents from abducting their own children or that obliges a parent to allow visitations. That legal blind spot fails to acknowledge the inalienable right of every child to have equal access to both parents, as stated in the UN Convention of the Rights of Child (art.9). Failure by a parent to abide by the court ruling is not seen as a criminal act – which in some countries brings immediate arrest and custody – but is tolerated to ensure the so-called "principle of continuity." To ward off criticism, the then Minister of Justice Yoko Kamikawa said last June that the country would overhaul its domestic laws to implement the H

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#3577954

20 December 2018

Tommaso Perina, an Italian Father attends a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on December 20, 2018. "Japan's Child Abduction Issue: Foreign parents want their custody and access rights recognized, and court rulings enforced" Child abduction and retention refers to the illegal removal of children from their habitual residence by a family member or their retention in contravention to the international law. In the past, foreign governments tried but failed to solve the hundreds of cases brought by their own citizens against Japanese nationals abducting children born from these international couples. Children's Rights Council, a non-profit organization, estimates there are 2,000 or more new cases in Japan every year as the number of international marriages increases. But this is far from being only an issue related to international marriages. Joint custody does not exist under the civil code in Japan, where most minors after separation or divorce lose contact with one parent. Even though in 2014, the country ratified the Hague Convention on International Child Abductions, which provides for an expeditious, almost automatic method to return a child abducted by a parent from one member country to another, foreign court rulings are seldom enforced. This happens because in Japan there is not a single law that prevents parents from abducting their own children or that obliges a parent to allow visitations. That legal blind spot fails to acknowledge the inalienable right of every child to have equal access to both parents, as stated in the UN Convention of the Rights of Child (art.9). Failure by a parent to abide by the court ruling is not seen as a criminal act – which in some countries brings immediate arrest and custody – but is tolerated to ensure the so-called "principle of continuity." To ward off criticism, the then Minister of Justice Yoko Kamikawa said last June that the country would overhaul its domestic laws to implement the

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#3577956

20 December 2018

(L-R) Tommaso Perina, an Italian Father, Vincent Fichot, a French Father attend a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on December 20, 2018. "Japan's Child Abduction Issue: Foreign parents want their custody and access rights recognized, and court rulings enforced" Child abduction and retention refers to the illegal removal of children from their habitual residence by a family member or their retention in contravention to the international law. In the past, foreign governments tried but failed to solve the hundreds of cases brought by their own citizens against Japanese nationals abducting children born from these international couples. Children's Rights Council, a non-profit organization, estimates there are 2,000 or more new cases in Japan every year as the number of international marriages increases. But this is far from being only an issue related to international marriages. Joint custody does not exist under the civil code in Japan, where most minors after separation or divorce lose contact with one parent. Even though in 2014, the country ratified the Hague Convention on International Child Abductions, which provides for an expeditious, almost automatic method to return a child abducted by a parent from one member country to another, foreign court rulings are seldom enforced. This happens because in Japan there is not a single law that prevents parents from abducting their own children or that obliges a parent to allow visitations. That legal blind spot fails to acknowledge the inalienable right of every child to have equal access to both parents, as stated in the UN Convention of the Rights of Child (art.9). Failure by a parent to abide by the court ruling is not seen as a criminal act – which in some countries brings immediate arrest and custody – but is tolerated to ensure the so-called "principle of continuity." To ward off criticism, the then Minister of Justice Yoko Kamikawa said last June that the country would overh

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#3577958

20 December 2018

Akira Ueno, Lawyer, Nihonbashi Sakura Law Firm attends a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on December 20, 2018. "Japan's Child Abduction Issue: Foreign parents want their custody and access rights recognized, and court rulings enforced" Child abduction and retention refers to the illegal removal of children from their habitual residence by a family member or their retention in contravention to the international law. In the past, foreign governments tried but failed to solve the hundreds of cases brought by their own citizens against Japanese nationals abducting children born from these international couples. Children's Rights Council, a non-profit organization, estimates there are 2,000 or more new cases in Japan every year as the number of international marriages increases. But this is far from being only an issue related to international marriages. Joint custody does not exist under the civil code in Japan, where most minors after separation or divorce lose contact with one parent. Even though in 2014, the country ratified the Hague Convention on International Child Abductions, which provides for an expeditious, almost automatic method to return a child abducted by a parent from one member country to another, foreign court rulings are seldom enforced. This happens because in Japan there is not a single law that prevents parents from abducting their own children or that obliges a parent to allow visitations. That legal blind spot fails to acknowledge the inalienable right of every child to have equal access to both parents, as stated in the UN Convention of the Rights of Child (art.9). Failure by a parent to abide by the court ruling is not seen as a criminal act – which in some countries brings immediate arrest and custody – but is tolerated to ensure the so-called "principle of continuity." To ward off criticism, the then Minister of Justice Yoko Kamikawa said last June that the country would overhaul its domestic laws to

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#3577960

20 December 2018

Akira Ueno, Lawyer, Nihonbashi Sakura Law Firm attends a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on December 20, 2018. "Japan's Child Abduction Issue: Foreign parents want their custody and access rights recognized, and court rulings enforced" Child abduction and retention refers to the illegal removal of children from their habitual residence by a family member or their retention in contravention to the international law. In the past, foreign governments tried but failed to solve the hundreds of cases brought by their own citizens against Japanese nationals abducting children born from these international couples. Children's Rights Council, a non-profit organization, estimates there are 2,000 or more new cases in Japan every year as the number of international marriages increases. But this is far from being only an issue related to international marriages. Joint custody does not exist under the civil code in Japan, where most minors after separation or divorce lose contact with one parent. Even though in 2014, the country ratified the Hague Convention on International Child Abductions, which provides for an expeditious, almost automatic method to return a child abducted by a parent from one member country to another, foreign court rulings are seldom enforced. This happens because in Japan there is not a single law that prevents parents from abducting their own children or that obliges a parent to allow visitations. That legal blind spot fails to acknowledge the inalienable right of every child to have equal access to both parents, as stated in the UN Convention of the Rights of Child (art.9). Failure by a parent to abide by the court ruling is not seen as a criminal act – which in some countries brings immediate arrest and custody – but is tolerated to ensure the so-called "principle of continuity." To ward off criticism, the then Minister of Justice Yoko Kamikawa said last June that the country would overhaul its domestic laws to

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#3577962

20 December 2018

Noriko Odagiri, Professor of Clinical Psychology, Tokyo International University attends a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on December 20, 2018. "Japan's Child Abduction Issue: Foreign parents want their custody and access rights recognized, and court rulings enforced" Child abduction and retention refers to the illegal removal of children from their habitual residence by a family member or their retention in contravention to the international law. In the past, foreign governments tried but failed to solve the hundreds of cases brought by their own citizens against Japanese nationals abducting children born from these international couples. Children's Rights Council, a non-profit organization, estimates there are 2,000 or more new cases in Japan every year as the number of international marriages increases. But this is far from being only an issue related to international marriages. Joint custody does not exist under the civil code in Japan, where most minors after separation or divorce lose contact with one parent. Even though in 2014, the country ratified the Hague Convention on International Child Abductions, which provides for an expeditious, almost automatic method to return a child abducted by a parent from one member country to another, foreign court rulings are seldom enforced. This happens because in Japan there is not a single law that prevents parents from abducting their own children or that obliges a parent to allow visitations. That legal blind spot fails to acknowledge the inalienable right of every child to have equal access to both parents, as stated in the UN Convention of the Rights of Child (art.9). Failure by a parent to abide by the court ruling is not seen as a criminal act – which in some countries brings immediate arrest and custody – but is tolerated to ensure the so-called "principle of continuity." To ward off criticism, the then Minister of Justice Yoko Kamikawa said last June that the country wo

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#3577966

20 December 2018

Akira Ueno, Lawyer, Nihonbashi Sakura Law Firm attends a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on December 20, 2018. "Japan's Child Abduction Issue: Foreign parents want their custody and access rights recognized, and court rulings enforced" Child abduction and retention refers to the illegal removal of children from their habitual residence by a family member or their retention in contravention to the international law. In the past, foreign governments tried but failed to solve the hundreds of cases brought by their own citizens against Japanese nationals abducting children born from these international couples. Children's Rights Council, a non-profit organization, estimates there are 2,000 or more new cases in Japan every year as the number of international marriages increases. But this is far from being only an issue related to international marriages. Joint custody does not exist under the civil code in Japan, where most minors after separation or divorce lose contact with one parent. Even though in 2014, the country ratified the Hague Convention on International Child Abductions, which provides for an expeditious, almost automatic method to return a child abducted by a parent from one member country to another, foreign court rulings are seldom enforced. This happens because in Japan there is not a single law that prevents parents from abducting their own children or that obliges a parent to allow visitations. That legal blind spot fails to acknowledge the inalienable right of every child to have equal access to both parents, as stated in the UN Convention of the Rights of Child (art.9). Failure by a parent to abide by the court ruling is not seen as a criminal act – which in some countries brings immediate arrest and custody – but is tolerated to ensure the so-called "principle of continuity." To ward off criticism, the then Minister of Justice Yoko Kamikawa said last June that the country would overhaul its domestic laws to

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#3577968

20 December 2018

(L-R) Tommaso Perina, an Italian Father, Vincent Fichot, a French Father attend a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on December 20, 2018. "Japan's Child Abduction Issue: Foreign parents want their custody and access rights recognized, and court rulings enforced" Child abduction and retention refers to the illegal removal of children from their habitual residence by a family member or their retention in contravention to the international law. In the past, foreign governments tried but failed to solve the hundreds of cases brought by their own citizens against Japanese nationals abducting children born from these international couples. Children's Rights Council, a non-profit organization, estimates there are 2,000 or more new cases in Japan every year as the number of international marriages increases. But this is far from being only an issue related to international marriages. Joint custody does not exist under the civil code in Japan, where most minors after separation or divorce lose contact with one parent. Even though in 2014, the country ratified the Hague Convention on International Child Abductions, which provides for an expeditious, almost automatic method to return a child abducted by a parent from one member country to another, foreign court rulings are seldom enforced. This happens because in Japan there is not a single law that prevents parents from abducting their own children or that obliges a parent to allow visitations. That legal blind spot fails to acknowledge the inalienable right of every child to have equal access to both parents, as stated in the UN Convention of the Rights of Child (art.9). Failure by a parent to abide by the court ruling is not seen as a criminal act – which in some countries brings immediate arrest and custody – but is tolerated to ensure the so-called "principle of continuity." To ward off criticism, the then Minister of Justice Yoko Kamikawa said last June that the country would overh

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#3577972

20 December 2018

(L-R) Akira Ueno, Lawyer, Tommaso Perina, an Italian Father, Vincent Fichot, a French Father attend a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on December 20, 2018. "Japan's Child Abduction Issue: Foreign parents want their custody and access rights recognized, and court rulings enforced" Child abduction and retention refers to the illegal removal of children from their habitual residence by a family member or their retention in contravention to the international law. In the past, foreign governments tried but failed to solve the hundreds of cases brought by their own citizens against Japanese nationals abducting children born from these international couples. Children's Rights Council, a non-profit organization, estimates there are 2,000 or more new cases in Japan every year as the number of international marriages increases. But this is far from being only an issue related to international marriages. Joint custody does not exist under the civil code in Japan, where most minors after separation or divorce lose contact with one parent. Even though in 2014, the country ratified the Hague Convention on International Child Abductions, which provides for an expeditious, almost automatic method to return a child abducted by a parent from one member country to another, foreign court rulings are seldom enforced. This happens because in Japan there is not a single law that prevents parents from abducting their own children or that obliges a parent to allow visitations. That legal blind spot fails to acknowledge the inalienable right of every child to have equal access to both parents, as stated in the UN Convention of the Rights of Child (art.9). Failure by a parent to abide by the court ruling is not seen as a criminal act – which in some countries brings immediate arrest and custody – but is tolerated to ensure the so-called "principle of continuity." To ward off criticism, the then Minister of Justice Yoko Kamikawa said last June that the

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#1943645

9 May 2017

A child lives in a one-room shelter with her family in Baw Du Pha. The visuals shows the inhumane living conditions inflicted on of the Rohingya Muslim minority by the militarized Rakhine State. In 2012, many Rohingya were forced to relocate to displacement camps after the Rakhine people burned their villages to ash. Since then, the Rohingya are no longer recognized as Burmese citizens. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya are barely surviving on scant government food rations, all but nonexistent access to healthcare, dilapidated housing shelters, and the perpetual fear of renewed attacks on their communities. Most now live in horrific conditions in the displacement camps with no government or NGO assistance.

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#1943646

9 May 2017

A woman living in Shwe Pya describes the biggest challenge to survival to be the inadequate housing shelters. Her shelter does not protect her family during the floods of the rainy season, and many homes have been completely destroyed over the last five years, never to be rebuilt. She must sleep outside when it rains. The visuals shows the inhumane living conditions inflicted on of the Rohingya Muslim minority by the militarized Rakhine State. In 2012, many Rohingya were forced to relocate to displacement camps after the Rakhine people burned their villages to ash. Since then, the Rohingya are no longer recognized as Burmese citizens. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya are barely surviving on scant government food rations, all but nonexistent access to healthcare, dilapidated housing shelters, and the perpetual fear of renewed attacks on their communities. Most now live in horrific conditions in the displacement camps with no government or NGO assistance.

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