Can my wife take my children to Japan?

It would appear my wife and I are seperating. She has threatened to take my childen to jpan (i am british) and that I will not get to see them again.

Does anyone know if she can do this or if there is some kind of legal relationship between the UK and Japan that would allow me access or custody?

Thanks

James,

If your wife is Japanese, then she can of course return to Japan with your children. Unfortunately, you will then have zero access/custody rights.
I would recommend doing a web search for "parental abduction in Japan" and thoroughly familiarizing yourself with the situation before it reaches that stage. Arudo Debito's site and forum has a lot of stuff about this too.

Dave in Saitama is right. If your wife took your children to Japan you don't have a lot of legal recourse to get even joint custody of them through the Japanese legal system. I know American guys who live in Japan in the hope of seeing their children but their wives won't allow it and they haven't seen them for years.

Also check what the situation is in Britain for parents who try to take children out of the country without permission of the other parent- it may not be legal.

Some good information can be found on this web site:

http://www.crnjapan.com/abduction/en/

However, find a solution before it goes this far.

James,

Are your children UK or Japanese citizens? Do they already have passports?

Here in US, both parents have to be present or one parent have to have a written permission from the other to apply for a passport for a child under 14.

If your children already have passports, I strongly recommend you to retain a lawyer so he can have your kids' passport suspended.

What your soon to be ex is doing is a black mail and it's illegal. Take some legal actions now.

Once she takes kids to Japan, you really may not see them again. Act quickly!

The kids can get Japanese passports without your consent.

The kids can get Japanese passports without your consent.

And, when my wife applied at the local Japanese consulate for our daughter's Japanese passport, it only took one day to process. She handed in the application just after 9am and picked up the finished passport just before 3pm the same day.

But, again, take steps now to prevent it from going that far.

Also check what the situation is in Britain for parents who try to take children out of the country without permission of the other parent- it may not be legal.
It is illegal in the UK but the Japanese legal system will do nothing to help once the children are in Japan.

assume she means it and get legal advice immediately. if she makes it to japan you will not see your kids again.

to try to explain how japanese people think, when my ex girlfriend was a child her mother divorced. Not only did she never see her father again, she didn't see her grandparents either.

How old are your children?

hi James,

according to me and you can even take the legal advice it depends on various matter ,who is financially stronger , depends upon the behavior of parents r they harsh towards children,depends upon the ability to look after the childrens.depends upon you temperament.in future when u get married whether you will look after you kids or not .so if you prove all these things to be stronger then decision may be fall on your favor too.
but this thing will definatly affect the mind of your kids when they see such harsh thing in their life.it would be better if you both compromise
, after all it's question of your children future. discus with your wife about it, before separating.

Thanking you.
Dilip

I live in the US. My parents are divorced. My mom has custody and my dad is allowed visitation, not a joint custody. My dad's family lives in Canada. They were having a family reunion and my mom wanted us to go. However, she couldn't make it, and wanted dad to go. So when we got to the immagration center, the police officer looked at all our records and stuff. He told my dad that without a note, we really weren't supposed to enter a city. Seeing as though we were only going for a week, he let us through. But I live in the US, and my mom has full custody, so I'm sure that the situations are quite different.

Here in Canada children travelling outside the country with just one parent need to show a notarized letter of consent from the other parent at the airport. Canada and Britain have almost the same system. Check with the Immigration. good luck!