International parental child abduction is a complex area of law that intersects with international law, children's rights, and family law. It is also an emotionally fraught and personally traumatic experience for all the parties involved, particularly the abducted children. Geraldine Carney provides an insightful and erudite analysis of the legal developments in Japanese law on international parental child abduction. She presents a detailed examination of Japanese family law in its wider social and cultural context by attempting to avoid the supercilious Anglophone gaze towards the perceived shortcomings of Japan (p 2). The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction entered into force in Japan in 2014. Carney devotes the main sections of her book to exploring the situation before and after the Hague Convention came into force in Japan. Carney's argument throughout the book is that while Japan has made positive steps in promoting the best interests of the child by becoming a party to the Hague Convention, there is still room for improvement in promoting effective legal enforcement of the Hague Convention in Japan in accordance with international standards.
Chapter 1 introduces the core themes and methodology of the book. Carney examines the Japanese legal responses to international parental child abduction from a socio-legal perspective. This is a sensible approach, as the Hague Convention is concerned with the promotion of universal children's rights in different jurisdictions around the world. The socio-legal analysis is explored in the ideological clash between universalism and cultural relativism. Japan was initially reluctant to sign the Hague Convention based on a desire to preserve Japanese cultural norms. Carney argues that Japanese notions of naiatsu (internal pressures) and gaiatsu (external pressures) ultimately led to Japan signing the Hague Convention, particularly in response to the rise of international marriages in Japan and international criticism of Japanese family law (p 10).
Chapter 2 contextualises Japanese family law in its wider context of international family law and human rights. Carney explores children's rights through the historical development of universal human rights in international public law, which has given rise to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The rise of international family law has led to increasing efforts to harmonise the law on international child custody and access, most notably through the establishment of the Hague Convention as an instrument of private international law. Carney provides a thoughtful consideration of the various jurisprudential concepts that underpin care of children issues (p 28). The concepts of familism, the public-private divide, and the privatisation of family law are not expressly mentioned, but are occasionally alluded to. Further detailed exploration of these concepts could have enhanced Carney's perceptive analysis on the jurisprudence of international children's rights.
Chapter 3 provides an explanation of Japanese kinship practices and their impact on the development of Japanese family law. Carney traces the transformation of parental authority from the empire of the father in the Meiji era to joint guardianship as a result of post-war law reforms in the mid-twentieth century (p 36). Although the traditional household system of ie seido was formally abolished in the post-war law reforms, Carney argues that vestigial traces of this system still manifest in the form of a strong cultural promotion of stem-families across generations. This is particularly relevant in the event of divorce, as the predominant view in Japan is that the parent who has custody of the child has the right to retain the child in his or her family register and thereby exercise sole parental authority. Carney provides an excellent explanation of the Japanese legal concept of parental authority, but there could have been some further explanation to clarify the distinction in custody law between Japan and other comparative jurisdictions. Shared parenting and the exercise of joint parental responsibility after the separation of parents, both of which are starkly different from the Japanese conceptualisation of sole parental authority, are found in many other comparative jurisdictions. Carney provides an insightful analysis of the shortcomings of the implementation of the Hague Convention in Japan, particularly as a result of Japan's own statutory interpretation legislation, which is used to construe the meaning of articles in the Hague Convention. She argues that the grave risk defence to return of the child under Article 13(b) of the Hague Convention has been watered down since it has been interpreted very broadly in Japan to include situations that fall short of a grave risk to the child's safety, and thus would unfairly advantage the case of the taking parent (p 50).
Chapter 4 explores how international parental child abduction cases were resolved before Japan signed the Hague Convention in 2014. This approach makes sense chronologically, providing a clear contrast between the Japanese legal responses to international parental child abduction before and after the Hague Convention. As Carney acknowledges, the chapter could have been categorised under ‘non-Hague Convention’ cases (p 100). However, it would have been beneficial if the book had also explored non-Hague Convention cases beyond 2014, as many countries have not signed the Hague Convention and the issues mentioned in the chapter continue to remain relevant. Moreover, there have been further developments in non-Hague Convention cases. The international parental child abduction case involving former Olympic table tennis medallist Ai Fukuhara was a prominent non-Hague Convention case that is absent from the book but would have been a worthwhile inclusion. With regard to the cases considered in the chapter, Carney provides a fantastic analysis of the key issues. She focuses on various causes célèbres of international parental child abduction, involving both scenarios of taking parents abducting a child to Japan and taking parents abducting a child to a foreign country outside of Japan. It is not uncommon for left-behind parents to mount a media campaign drawing attention to their plight. Carney provides an incisive analysis of the role of the media in shaping narratives about Japanese law and culture. A perceptive point is that the success of left-behind parents in obtaining the return of the child is based on a range of socio-economic factors, which Carney astutely contrasts in her analysis of cases involving American and Filipino left-behind parents of former Japanese partners. Carney also persuasively dispels the common trope of Japanese mothers as ‘shameless abductors’, since Japanese mothers can also find themselves in the position of a left-behind parent (p 79).
Chapter 5 covers the operation of Japanese law in international parental child abduction cases after Japan signed the Hague Convention. In particular, the chapter focuses on the child abduction case involving the American left-behind parent James Cook and the Japanese taking parent Arimitsu Hitomi. This provides an ideal case study for evaluating the Japanese interpretation and enforcement of the Hague Convention. Carney provides a careful analysis of the legal issues surrounding the implementation of the Hague Convention in Japan. Carney argues that the case of Cook v Arimitsu, which was litigated all the way up to the Japanese Supreme Court, reveals a number of shortcomings in the Japanese family justice system. The four children, taken by their mother from their habitual residence in the United States to Japan, were initially ordered at trial to be returned under the Hague Convention. Arimitsu simply disregarded the return order and, in the ensuing delay, was able to convince the Japanese Supreme Court that it was no longer appropriate to uphold the return order. Carney identifies several problems in Japan's implementation of the Hague Convention, such as the lack of proper training for family court probation officers, the inability of parties to submit their own psychological or psychiatric evidence, ineffective measures to properly enforce return orders, and a failure to respect the left-behind parent's right to access to his or her own children.
Chapter 6 presents conclusions and suggestions as to how the Japanese family justice system can improve its handling of international parental child abduction cases. The chapter synthesises the cases and legal problems discussed in the previous chapters to provide a final commentary on the key issues. Carney argues that socio-economic capital in the form of media literacy and legal literacy are important factors that can significantly determine the ultimate outcome of a case (p 154). Drawing on a post-structuralist view, she cites the work of Pierre Bourdieu to justify her argument. Carney presents her vision of a more effective legal process for resolving international parental child abduction cases in Japan, including, among other things, readily granting interim access to the child to left-behind parents applying for a return order, raising the legal standard for the exceptions to return, and introducing a more effective enforcement system for return orders (p 176). Carney alludes to the proposed Japanese family law reforms in 2024, which have since been enacted and will come into effect in 2026 (pp 184–185). The new law will allow shared parenting and parent-child visitation. However, time will tell whether or not these legal reforms will have a significant impact on promoting the best interests of the child. Carney is somewhat cautious in her observation when she mentions that shared parenting may not be ordered or adequately enforced because of prevailing cultural practices. This is evident in the shortcomings in the enforcement of the Hague Convention in Japan.
Overall, Carney has produced an academic tour de force in her critical analysis of the Japanese law on international parental child abduction. The book is a brilliant trifecta of Japanese studies, family law, and international children's rights law. A major achievement of the book is its ability to clearly explain complicated cultural and legal issues by chronicling the legal developments that ultimately led to Japan signing the Hague Convention in a consolidated monograph. It would have been beneficial if the book had included a glossary of all the Japanese terms mentioned, in Japanese with their English translation. Nevertheless, Carney convincingly argues that Japan still has significant progress to make in aligning its application of the Hague Convention with universal standards found in international legal norms and practices. Her analysis thoughtfully situates these shortcomings within the broader context of Japanese law and culture, making a compelling case for further reform.
