In previous posts, we have discussed how many Americans - mostly fathers - have had their child custody/visitation rights virtually eliminated by the Japanese legal system and the nation's accompanying reluctance to sign the Hague Convention.

For those unfamiliar with the Hague Convention, it is an international treaty that prohibits parents from fleeing with their children (and without legal permission) to any of the 82 participating countries.

Unfortunately, Japan's reluctance to sign the treaty coupled with the design of its current family court system - child custody awarded to only one parent, visitation rights seldom awarded and no recognition of foreign custody orders - has created a legal nightmare for fathers attempting to regain custody from spouses who have fled the country.

One such father, who endured the trauma of being separated from his daughter, is Dr. Moises G., a Milwaukee-area physician whose ex-wife fled to Japan with the couple's young daughter back in 2008.

According to reports, Moises G., and his wife, Emiko I., filed for divorce in February 2008. Shortly thereafter, Emiko I. fled to Japan with the couple's daughter and failed to return to Wisconsin for divorce hearings.

She was eventually found to be in contempt, and the presiding circuit court judge ordered that the couple's daughter either be returned to the U.S. or returned to  Moises G. in Japan.

Interestingly, this never occurred as a Japanese court awarded Emiko I. custody and granted Moises G. - who had been awarded legal custody by the Wisconsin court in June 2009 - only a month of visitation per year.

This past April, however, Emiko I. traveled to Hawaii, where she was arrested by authorities and sent back to Milwaukee to stand trial for interfering with child custody, a felony under Wisconsin law.

As for the couple's daughter, she remains in Japan under the care of her grandparents.

International child advocates are hopeful that a guilty verdict in Emiko I.'s trial - which resumes today - could serve the purpose of not only reuniting Moises G. and his daughter, but also in creating a deterrent for potential child abductors and in getting Japan to finally sign the Hague Convention.

(Japan actually indicated that it would sign the Hague Convention this past spring but definitive action has yet to be taken.)

Stay tuned for updates from our Phoenix divorce blog ...

If you are currently involved in a child custody dispute or would like more information regarding international child custody, you should strongly consider speaking with an experienced legal professional.

This post is provided for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as legal advice. Names have been withheld to protect the identity of the parties.

Sources:

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Mom who took child to Japan faces criminal charges here" Nov. 21, 2011

WISN, "Milwaukee courtroom could change international laws" Nov. 21, 2011