[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 133 (Wednesday, September 29, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1819-E1820]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CALLING ON JAPAN TO ADDRESS CHILD ABDUCTION CASES

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                               speech of

                          HON. GARY G. MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 28, 2010

  Mr. GARY G. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of 
House Resolution 1326, a resolution calling on the Government of Japan 
to immediately address the growing problem of American children 
abducted to Japan.
  Since 1994, the Office of Children's Issues--commonly referred to as 
OCI--at the United States State Department had opened

[[Page E1820]]

194 cases involving 269 U.S. children abducted to or wrongfully 
retained in Japan. As of March 25, 2010, OCI had 85 open cases 
involving over 121 American children abducted to Japan. Of these 
abducted children, Keisuke Collins, is the son of one of my 
constituents, Randy Collins.
  Unfortunately, since the signing of the Treaty of Peace with Japan 
between the Allied Powers and the Government of Japan in 1951, the 
Japanese Government has never issued and enforced a legal decision to 
return a single abducted child to the United States. In addition, Japan 
has not agreed to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of 
International Child Abduction, which has resulted in the continued 
absence of an immediate remedy that would enable the expedited return 
of abducted children to their custodial parent in the United States. 
Sadly, the Government of Japan is the only G-7 country that has not 
acceded to the Hague Convention.
  This problem is also compounded by Japan's legal system. Because 
Japan's existing family law system does not recognize joint custody nor 
actively enforces parental access agreements for both its own citizens 
and foreigners, there is little hope for children to have contact with 
the noncustodial parent in violation of internationally recognized and 
protected rights. What is worse, the Government of Japan has repeatedly 
claimed to foreign governments that parental child abduction is not 
considered a crime in Japan despite the fact that Article 3 of the 
Japanese Penal Code does indeed make it a crime for a Japanese citizen 
to abduct a child and move the child across national borders.
  Although Japan's current Justice Minister said upon her appointment 
that she is determined to show that Japan ``is very proactive'' in 
adopting international protocols and conventions that are the 
``international standard,'' child abductions to Japan continue to be a 
very serious and rampant problem. Consequently, is critical for the 
United States and Japan to work together to prevent future incidents of 
international parental child abduction to Japan.
  As such, I call on my colleagues to support House Resolution 1326. 
This resolution calls on the Government of Japan to immediately address 
the growing problem of abduction to and retention of American children 
in Japan. The resolution also calls on Japan to work closely with the 
United States to return these children to their custodial parent in the 
United States and to provide left-behind parents immediate access to 
their children. Lastly, House Resolution 1326 calls on Japan to 
immediately adopt the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of 
International Child Abduction so that these abducted children can be 
returned to their custodial parent.
  As an original cosponsor of this resolution, it is of utmost 
importance to not only me, but to my constituents Randy and Keisuke, 
that it is passed with the overwhelming support of the House of 
Representatives. These abducted kids--and their families--cannot wait 
any longer.

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