If my own mailbox is any indicator, the Internet is buzzing as international family lawyers, family rights activists and others share an exciting piece of news: Japan is reportedly planning to join the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction! Perhaps Japan's days as a haven for international parental child abduction are numbered. Perhaps Japanese courts will stop giving the judicial seal of approval to one parent's selfish desire to erase the other from a child's life. Fingers crossed.
Though one could question the timing of the very low-key announcement two months before the Hokkaido G8 Summit the Japanese authorities should be commended for taking what will be a big step forward in the sphere of private international law. The concerted pressure of diplomats from a number of countries (including several G8 nations) who have pushed Japan on this issue for years, and the efforts of activists often parents who have lost any hope of being part of their own children's lives but have continued to speak up for the benefit of others must also be acknowledged and appreciated.
I must confess to having been skeptical that this would happen so soon (it could happen as early as 2010) if at all. I will be glad ecstatic to be proved wrong. However, I do not plan to crack open any champagne until an abducted child is actually returned home. International treaties, like marriages and childbirth, are events to be celebrated, but all of the hard work comes afterward.