Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
Crime & Legal Aug 10, 2013
Manual issued for Hague treaty child retrievals
by Magdalena Osumi
Supreme Court issues manual for court-appointed administrators on how to retrieve children in parental cross-border abduction cases under the Hague Convention.
Politics & Diplomacy Jun 13, 2013
Diet passes Hague-compliance law
The Diet enacts a law needed to ratify an international treaty to help settle cross-border child custody disputes, paving the way for Japan to join the pact possibly early next year.
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Jun 11, 2013
Hague Convention on child abduction may shape Japan's family law — or vice versa
by Colin P. A. Jones
Giant Hello Kitty-emblazoned kudos to Japan for finally signing the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction. Now comes the hard part: actually making it work. Mistakenly identified by some press accounts as an accomplishment of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan’s accession is probably more ...
Voices | HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO Jun 11, 2013
Please, prime minister, just let me be a father
Dear Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, As a boy growing up in America, my mother and father would have frequent arguments. It was a stressful time for everyone, and eventually they got divorced when I was in 2nd grade in elementary school. During the divorce ...
Politics & Diplomacy Apr 23, 2013
Lower House OKs ratification of child custody pact
The Lower House unanimously approves ratification of signing an international treaty to help settle cross-border child custody disputes, paving the way for passage through the Diet in late May.
National Apr 17, 2013
Film sheds light on plight of left-behind parents
by Masami Ito
Images of left-behind parents, holding up photos of their children, flash across the screen. In the United States, Canada, Europe and even Japan, these parents are waiting to reunite with offspring taken away by their estranged Japanese spouses. The documentary film “From The Shadows,” ...
Editorial Mar 12, 2013
Preparing for the Hague Convention
Once Japan joins the Hague Convention, the government must ensure the treaty functions properly to uphold the best interests of the children involved.
Politics & Diplomacy Feb 20, 2013
With LDP nod, Hague bills face May Diet OK
The Diet will approve Japan joining the international treaty on settling cross-border child custody disputes, possibly in May.
Politics & Diplomacy Feb 15, 2013
LDP gets behind the Hague Convention
by Reiji Yoshida
Now that a majority of the Diet appears to support joining the international treaty on settling cross-border child custody disputes, the government expressed determination Thursday to push for quick ratification of the 1980 Hague Convention. The Liberal Democratic Party’s joint foreign and legal affairs ...
Politics & Diplomacy Feb 7, 2013
Diet to get Hague treaty bills in March
The government plans to resubmit in mid-March a set of bills to the Diet necessary for Japan to join the international treaty on settling cross-border child custody disputes.
National Jan 20, 2013
Japan to join child abduction treaty
Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida announced the government will sign the Hague Convention on cross-border parental child abductions, addressing one of the few sources of tension in Tokyo’s ties with Washington. Japan has yet to ratify the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of ...
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Jan 1, 2013
The year for non-Japanese in '12: a top 10
by Debito Arudou
Back by popular demand, here is JBC’s roundup of the top 10 human rights events that most affected non-Japanese (NJ) residents of Japan in 2012, in ascending order. Bubbling under • China’s anti-Japan riots (September) and Senkaku-area maneuvers (October to now). • North Korea’s ...