M aking international (and to a lesser extent, national) news recently has been the Savoie child abduction case. Briefly: After a couple divorced in America, ex-wife Noriko Savoie absconded with their children to Japan. Then ex-husband Christopher, who had been awarded custody in the U.S., came to Japan to take the kids back. On Sept. 28 he tried to get the children into the American Consulate in Fukuoka, but was barred entry and arrested by the Japanese police for kidnapping.
The case is messy (few divorces aren't), and I haven't space here to deal with the minutia (e.g. Christopher's quick remarriage, Noriko's $800,000 divorce award and ban on international travel, both parents' dual U.S.-Japan citizenship , etc.). Please read up online.
So let's go beyond that and focus on how this case highlights why Japan must make fundamental promises and reforms.