Japan must play by the rules
Re: Edward Moreno's letter "Bring back the Black Ships?" (Have Your Say, Oct. 2) in response to "Our mixed-race children deserve better than this, so why bother with Japan?" by Colin P.A. Jones (Zeit Gist, Sept. 4):
Moreno is right about one thing, in that he certainly is confused.
The issue is one of reciprocity, not of "extraterritoriality." Citizens of Western countries have to abide by custody decisions made by Japanese courts, so the only "privileges" are those taken unilaterally by the Japanese government and judiciary in upholding the right of every ethnic Japanese citizen to break the laws of every other country by abducting their children in violation of custody agreements. With a basic grasp of common sense, it shouldn't be too difficult to see who it is that is really saying, "We are so special."