custody of child

My wife and I have been married for about 3 years and going through a rocky period. We married in Japan but moved to the UK 6 months ago. My son has a British passport. If we divorce could my wife take my son back to Japan against my will. I know if we had got married in the UK we could get joint custody.

Have a look at this Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_child_abduction_in_Japan

found this posted online at
Marilyn Stowe Legal blog
What could it mean for me


Japan cabinet approves Hague Convention on child abduction

Japan has become the final member of the G8 to ratify the Hague Convention on child abduction. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe�fs cabinet approved the treaty earlier today.

The G8 is a group of eight of the world�fs wealthiest countries.

The 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction allows children who have been abducted by a parent to be returned from one member state to another.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said that now the Japanese cabinet has approved the Hague Convention, the government would quickly submit the necessary legislation to parliament:

�gIt is important for our country to join the Hague Convention that sets international rules on dealing with illegal kidnapping of children, now that the numbers of international marriages and international divorces have increased�h.

Prime Minister Abe recently said he was keen to join the convention despite political opposition. Mr Abe also assured President Barack Obama in a visit to the US last month that Japan was close to joining the convention.

Yes she could and it will be time consuming and costly to repatriate him. Does he have a Japanese passport? If yes, keep it close.

Moving country is very difficult. I have not idea of the situation with your wife, but trying to help her be happy in the UK would be to both of your advantages.

Well she's only been living in the UK for six months, so if you two divorce it seems only natural that she would to return to Japan. Would she really be capable of living on her own raising a young child in the UK? You'd know better than I would, but even if it comes to divorce please still consider what is best for her and your son.

Agree with the previous posters. Ultimately, it will be difficult to prevent her from leaving with your son. I suggest working on proving to her that your son needs to have a normal relationship with his father. If she doesn't believe that, you are facing an uphill battle.