H. Res. 1326 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

September 29, 2010. 

Whereas Japan is an important partner with the United 

States and shares interests in the areas of economy, defense, global peace and prosperity, and the protection of 

the human rights of the two nations’ respective citizens 

in an increasingly integrated global society; 

Whereas the Government of Japan acceded in 1979 to the 

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that 

states ‘‘States Parties to the present Covenant shall take 

appropriate steps to ensure equality of rights and responsibilities of spouses as to marriage, during marriage and 

at its dissolution. In the case of dissolution, provision 

shall be made for the necessary protection of any children 

[Article 23]’’; 

Whereas since 1994, the Office of Children’s Issues (OCI) at 

the United States Department of State had opened over 

214 cases involving 300 United States citizen children 

abducted to or wrongfully retained in Japan, and as of 

September 17, 2010, OCI had 95 open cases involving 

136 United States citizen children abducted to or wrongfully retained in Japan; 

Whereas the United States Congress is not aware of any legal 

decision that has been issued and enforced by the Gov-
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ernment of Japan to return a single abducted child to the 

United States; 

Whereas Japan has not acceded to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction 

(the Hague Convention), resulting in the continued absence of an immediate civil remedy that as a matter of 

urgency would enable the expedited return of abducted 

children to their custodial parent in the United States 

where appropriate, or otherwise immediately allow access 

to their United States parent; 

Whereas the Government of Japan is the only G–7 country 

that has not acceded to the Hague Convention; 

Whereas the Hague Convention would not apply to most abductions occurring before Japan’s ratification of the 

Hague Convention, requiring, therefore, that Japan create a separate parallel process to resolve the abductions 

of all United States citizen children who currently remain 

wrongfully removed to or retained in Japan, including the 

136 United States citizen children who have been reported to the United States Department of State and 

who are being held in Japan against the wishes of their 

parent in the United States and, in many cases, in direct 

violation of a valid United States court order; 

Whereas the Hague Convention provides enumerated defenses 

designed to provide protection to children alleged to be 

subjected to a grave risk of physical or psychological 

harm in the left-behind country; 

Whereas United States laws against domestic violence extend 

protection and redress to Japanese spouses; 

Whereas there are cases of Japanese consulates located within the United States issuing or reissuing travel docu-
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ments of dual-national children notwithstanding United 

States court orders restricting travel; 

Whereas Japanese family courts may not actively enforce parental access and joint custody arrangements for either 

a Japanese national or a foreigner, there is little hope for 

children to have contact with the noncustodial parent; 

Whereas the Government of Japan has not prosecuted an abducting parent or relative criminally when that parent or 

relative abducts the child into Japan, but has prosecuted 

cases of foreign nationals removing Japanese children 

from Japan; 

Whereas according to the United States Department of 

State’s April 2009 Report on Compliance with the Hague 

Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 

Abduction, abducted children are at risk of serious emotional and psychological problems and have been found to 

experience anxiety, eating problems, nightmares, mood 

swings, sleep disturbances, aggressive behavior, resentment, guilt, and fearfulness, and as adults may struggle 

with identity issues, their own personal relationships, and 

parenting; 

Whereas left-behind parents may encounter substantial psychological, emotional, and financial problems, and many 

may not have the financial resources to pursue civil or 

criminal remedies for the return of their children in foreign courts or political systems; 

Whereas, on October 16, 2009, the Ambassadors to Japan of 

Australia, Canada, France, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, 

the United Kingdom, and the United States, all parties 

to the Hague Convention, called upon Japan to accede to 

the Hague Convention and to identify and implement 
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•HRES 1326 EH 

measures to enable parents who are separated from their 

children to establish contact with them and to visit them; 

Whereas, on January 30, 2010, the Ambassadors to Japan 

of Australia, France, New Zealand, the United Kingdom 

and the United States, the Charges d’Affaires ad interim 

of Canada and Spain, and the Deputy Head of Mission 

of Italy, called on Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, 

submitted their concerns over the increase in international parental abduction cases involving Japan and affecting their nationals, and again urged Japan to sign 

the Hague Convention; 

Whereas the Government of Japan has recently created a 

new office within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to address parental child abduction and a bilateral commission 

with the Government of the United States to share information on and seek resolution of outstanding Japanese 

parental child abduction cases; and 

Whereas it is critical for the Governments of the United 

States and Japan to work together to prevent future incidents of international parental child abduction to Japan, 

which damages children, families, and Japan’s national 

image with the United States: Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That— 

(1) the House of Representatives— 

(A) condemns the abduction and wrongful retention of all children being held in Japan away 

from their United States parents; 

(B) calls on the Government of Japan to immediately facilitate the resolution of all abduction 

cases, to recognize United States court orders gov-
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erning persons subject to jurisdiction in a United 

States court, and to make immediately possible access and communication for all children with their 

left-behind parents; 

(C) calls on the Government of Japan to include Japan’s Ministry of Justice in work with the 

Government of the United States to facilitate the 

identification and location of all United States citizen children alleged to have been wrongfully removed to or retained in Japan and for the immediate establishment of procedures and a timetable 

for the resolution of existing cases of abduction, interference with parental access to children, and violations of United States court orders; 

(D) calls on the Government of Japan to review and amend its consular procedures to ensure 

that travel documents for children are issued with 

due consideration to any orders by a court of competent jurisdiction and with notarized signatures 

from both parents; 

(E) calls on Japan to accede to the 1980 

Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction without delay and to 

promptly establish judicial and enforcement procedures to facilitate the immediate return of children 
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•HRES 1326 EH 

to their habitual residence and to establish procedures for recognizing rights of parental access; and 

(F) calls on the President of the United States 

and the Secretary of State to continue raising the 

issue of abduction and wrongful retention of those 

United States citizen children in Japan with Japanese officials and domestic and international press; 

and 

(2) it is the sense of the House of Representatives 

that the United States should— 

(A) recognize the issue of child abduction to 

and retention of United States citizen children in 

Japan as an issue of paramount importance to the 

United States within the context of its bilateral relationship with Japan; 

(B) work with the Government of Japan to 

enact consular and passport procedures and legal 

agreements to prevent parental abduction to and retention of United States citizen children in Japan; 

(C) review its advisory services made available 

to United States citizens domestically and internationally from the Department of State, the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, 

and other government agencies to ensure that effective and timely assistance is given to United States 
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•HRES 1326 EH 

citizens in preventing the incidence of wrongful retention or removal of children and acting to obtain 

the expeditious return of their children from Japan; 

(D) review its advisory services for members of 

the United States Armed Forces, particularly those 

stationed in Japan by the Department of Defense 

and the United States Armed Forces, to ensure 

that preventive education and timely legal assistance are made available; and 

(E) call upon the Secretary of State to establish procedures with the Government of Japan to 

resolve immediately any parental child abduction or 

access issue reported to the United States Department of State. 

Attest: 

Clerk.