JAMES OATEN, REPORTER: For years, these memories were locked away, too painful for Izumi to bear.
IZUMI (subtitles): I'm feeling nostalgic. It's nostalgic to see the photos. But it's very sad that I can't be with them now.
JAMES OATEN: It's been seven years since she was separated from her two daughters and her son.
IZUMI (subtitles): The police said at the time that there was no problem because it was the father who took the children. They said it was a family matter and did nothing to help me see my children.
JAMES OATEN: It's impossible to gain access through the Japanese legal system. In the event of a dispute, only one parent has full control.
There are no compromises: custody usually rests with whoever physically owns the children.
It's intended to provide stability, but critics say it encourages parental child abduction.
IZUMI (subtitle): The one who takes the child wins. [The courts] I don't understand how people or children feel.
JAMES OATEN: Izumi tried everything to be part of her children's lives again.
She sent them loving letters but was insulted in return.
IZUMI (subtitle): I made each letter carefully and with love, so it was shocking to see them cutting out the letters with scissors. I felt sad.
I can imagine that they were forced to do these things and had a hard time. The most shocking was this one, which features a note that says “Die, you old bitch.”
JAMES OATEN: The court did not intervene.
IZUMI (subtitles): I haven't done anything bad and I care about them very much, but I can't see them.
Why can't I see her?
JAMES OATEN: Every year, tens of thousands of children in Japan lose contact with a parent.
Since 2004, not only locals but also many foreigners have been implicated in the country's parental child abduction crisis, including 89 Australian children.
Five years ago, Australian-born Hinata and Harugo were kidnapped by their Japanese mother.
SCOTT MCINTYRE: I went to school, the school didn't do anything, I went to Child Protective Services, they didn't do anything. I went to the police, as I have said several times, but they did nothing.
You're afraid for the children.
REPORTER (2020): An Australian journalist living in Tokyo was convicted of trespassing.
JAMES OATEN: In 2020, the Scott McIntyre story made headlines in Australia and around the world. Desperate to check on his children's welfare, he went to his in-laws' apartment complex. He was arrested and imprisoned for trespassing.
SCOTT MCINTYRE: What future does Japan have if children are kidnapped…
JAMES OATEN: Did you ever think back then that it would drag on for so long?
SCOTT MCINTYRE: No. Nobody does that. We have been calling for change, meaningful change, in Japan for so long. People long before me were demanding change, and you think: Okay, Japan will surely wake up and join the modern world, and they just stubbornly refuse to change.
JAMES OATEN: Scott has presented evidence in court, pressured the Australian government to check on his children and even issued an Interpol notice.
SCOTT MCINTYRE: They say the children were kidnapped from their mother.
JAMES OATEN: It doesn't get him anywhere.
SCOTT MCINTYRE: In five years I've only received one piece of paper. I don't know what the children look like, I don't know if they are in Japan. I don't know where they are. I don't know if they're dead.
JAMES OATEN: Japan has long been accused of failing to protect what is in the best interests of the child – namely, meaningful access to both parents when it can be done safely.
Pressure has been growing at home and abroad for years, and it appears that the pressure is working.
The laws introduced by the government give judges the power for the first time to enforce joint custody if parents cannot agree.
Family law expert Honorary Professor Shuhei Ninomiya describes this as a positive step.
PROF. SHUHEI NINOMIYA, RITSUMEIKAN UNIVERSITY (subtitle): 70 percent of children do not see their separated, non-custodial parent after divorce. Seventy percent also receive no maintenance for their children.
I think this reality needs to be changed somehow.
JAMES OATEN: But he sees disadvantages. There will be no visitation rights during the lengthy court case, meaning parents could continue to be denied seeing their children while the matter plays out in court.
SHUHEI NINOMIYA (Subtitles): I think it is a reality that the children are brainwashed into thinking they have been abandoned.
JAMES OATEN: Those who feel burned out by the current system have no faith that things will get better.
SCOTT MCINTYRE: It's been that way for 50 years and the court won't change and the judges won't change.
What I want is an independent panel of experts. They conduct a thorough and quick investigation.
JAMES OATEN: But the campaign to stop these laws is getting louder. These survivors of family violence fear that a lack of protection could push them back into the orbit of their abusive partner.
CHISATO KITANAKA (subtitles): There is only one rule: the victim runs away. Only in very serious cases will the court issue an interim injunction.
JAMES OATEN: This includes the mother of two boys, Hiromi Tomoyama.
HIROMI TOMOYAMA (subtitles): I was feeling really bad at the time. I feel very sorry for the children. Everything in our lives was gone.
I didn't really know what domestic violence was at the time, but I think it's really about being in control.
JAMES OATEN: Survivors of family violence rarely reveal their identities, especially in Japan. Why did you decide to go public?
HIROMI TOMOYAMA (subtitles): When people want to change something, when people want to assert their rights, someone spoke, stood up, acted. Then they fought for their rights.
JAMES OATEN: Hiromi argues that shared custody laws can't work in Japan, where protections for victims of family violence are pitiful.
HIROMI TOMOYAMA (subtitles): It's about being forced. I was forced to do everything and then everything was withheld from me.
I haven't received any maintenance for three years. As a single mother, I live in poverty. First, we need a system that supports hurting parents and children.
JAMES OATEN: Your ex-partner has denied allegations of domestic violence.
HIROMI TOMOYAMA (subtitles): There is no organization that certifies domestic violence, and it is unclear how much work judges will have to do if joint custody is introduced in the future.
JAMES OATEN: That's a point Izumi understands.
Although she is on the opposite side of the debate, she has also presented evidence of domestic violence to the courts. It didn't help her.
IZUMI (subtitle): It is not a society in which adults adequately protect children.
SHUHEI NINOMIYA (subtitles): There is no adequate screening for domestic violence. Investigators do not have specific knowledge of domestic violence or abuse.
JAMES OATEN: Those who support shared custody feel like they are being punished for the actions of the minority.
After missing important milestones, they simply can't wait any longer to reconnect with their children.
IZUMI (subtitles): I want to tell you that we haven't seen each other for a long time, but I love you no matter what.
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