From the Shadows

A silent tragedy is taking place in Japan with alarming frequency and it's long past time to bring it into the light. Japan is a country where parental abduction and retention happens everyday. It goes mostly unpunished and in fact is often encouraged mainly because of terribly insufficient laws and a powerless family court system that can do next to nothing to stop it. The police don't get involved, the politicians and media largely pretend it's not a problem, and parents are left on their own to decide their fate in an environment where the first one to grab the kids and run is the one who gets sole custody. It's time for this issue to become known and it's time for Japan to take responsibility and address this dark area of its proud culture. We will examine several cases of parental abduction to show how it happens and what consequences occur as a result. We will hear from professors, lawyers, psychologists, lawmakers and parents of abducted children. We will also meet children who were abducted and we will attempt to speak to the parents who abducted them.