ANALYSIS: Perception Gap behind Japan-U.S. Child Custody Row

   Washington, Sept. 4 (Jiji Press)--The United States' tough attitude toward Japan on the issue of cross-border parental custody of children after the breakup of international marriages may reflect worries that the Japan-U.S. alliance may be affected unless the wide gap in the attitudes of the two sides can be changed.
   In a recent interview with Jiji Press, Kurt Campbell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, raised serious concerns about the lack of recognition of the issue in Japan and warned of U.S. congressional moves to increase pressure on Japan.
   Observers say the divide on the issue reflects differences in family-related social structures and in values about parent-child relationships.
   At issue are mainly cases in which Japanese women take children with American nationality from the United States to Japan without the consent of their current or former American husbands.
   When couples divorce in the United States, details about child-rearing obligations and rights are normally determined by a court. As Americans generally tend to believe that maintaining ties with both parents is in the best interest of the children, parents who do not live with their children are usually given visitation rights.
   If Japanese women wish to return home from the United States with their children after divorce, it is extremely difficult for them to do so by winning sole custody, particularly when they have financial problems or limited English skills.
   Many such women therefore decide to return to Japan without being granted the right to do so. According to the U.S. State Department, a total of 173 children with American nationality have been taken illegally to Japan.
   In Japan, on the other hand, mothers are granted sole custody of their children after divorce in an overwhelming number of cases. Therefore, many Japanese see no problem with Japanese women bringing their children back to the country.
   But such acts are regarded as kidnapping in the United States. A Japanese woman has been placed on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's wanted list.
   In Japan, there is strong opposition to Japan's plan to join the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Reasons cited include protecting Japanese women who have returned home from other countries with their children to avoid domestic violence.
   The treaty obliges nationals of member countries to return their children once to the former country of residence. There is concern that the safety of victims of domestic violence who travel with their children cannot be ensured.
   Meanwhile, American fathers whose children have been taken to Japan by their current or former spouses have no course of redress.
   For the United States, Japan showing little enthusiasm for response to existing cases with its stance of not intervening in civil affairs appears similar to assisting abductions by using some domestic violence cases as excuses, observers say.
   For the ratification of the treaty, the Japanese government wants its legislation to state that domestic violence is a reason for refusing to return children, but the United States is wary that there may be repeated refusals.
   In addition, as the treaty will not apply to existing cases, the United States is also concerned about nationals who are already involved in such disputes.
   Frictions are thus expected to remain between the two countries on the issue even after the treaty is ratified in Japan.