Child abduction in Japan. Secuestro de niños en Japón.

Debido al aumento de casos [en] en los que niños, hijos de madre japonesa y de padre de otra nacionalidad, son secuestrados por sus madres japonesas y llevados a Japón sin el consentimiento de los padres, Estados Unidos, Francia y el Reino Unido presionaron al Japón para firmar la Convención de Protección de la Niñez de La Haya. El tratado, que hace referencia al secuestro internacional de niños, entró en vigencia en 1983 para proveer los medios legales para la pronta recuperación del niño a su lugar de origen.

Por el momento, Japón es el único miembro del Grupo de los Siete que no ha firmado el tratado, lo cual significa que su gobierno no está obligado a otorgar ninguna información acerca del niño o de la madre que regresó a Japón ni solicitarle a ésta que devuelva al niño.

La sociedad no está consciente de este problema y los medios de comunicación más importantes no colaboran para que este problema tome público conocimiento. El blogger y activista Debito critica [en] la cobertura del secuestro infantil que realiza la Corporación Emisora de Japón (NHK) en la que los casos y la información es otorgada de tal modo que perjudica a los padres extranjeros.

Esta mañana mire la NHK y, francamente, quedé muy desilusionado. Luego de haber dado algunas estadísticas del divorcio internacional (cerca de 20.000 casos al año, aproximádamente el doble que hace diez años), la NHK mencionó tres casos estudiados en breve […]

Concluyó con las típicas relatividades (por ej. como todos lo hacen, Japón también) que mencionan en presuntos casos pasados cómo las madres NJ secuestraban a sus hijos japoneses en el exterior (lo que significa que los padres japoneses eran kawaisou [poca cosa]; la conclusión final era que los japoneses eran vistas como insignificantes). Se asegura que el Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores (MOFA) no aportó comentarios acerca de si Japón firmaría o no la Convención de Protección de la Niñez de La Haya.

La NHK no mencionó nada sobre el hecho de que no existe un solo caso de chicos devueltos a sus padres NJ por los tribunales de Japón (lo contrario es falso); nada sobre los delitos que comete Japón (como el incumplimiento de las leyes que regulan la custodia de los niños en el extranjero, como el caso Murray Wood); ni tampoco que (y hablo desde la experiencia de no ver a mis hijos desde hace cinco años) el sistema Koseki [el sistema de registro familiar de Japón] no permite contacto con los padres japoneses después del divorcio.

La NHK hizo varios intentos en simpatizar con las madres japonesas que secuestran a sus hijos o con la posición de los japoneses en general (no con los niños ni el modo en el que éstos son afectados al no tener a ambos padres en sus vidas). Una absoluta estupidez.

La abogada Kawahara hizo un llamado a una acción y participación más activa y responsable por parte de los políticos sin importar el partido político al cual pertenezcan.

国際離婚して、日本に子どもを連れ帰る日本人妻が多く、現に、カナダやアメリカから、条約を批准していない日本が批判を浴びています。[…]
都議会議員選挙の後、国会審議が止まっています。
国会議員は、法律の制定改廃が仕事でしょう。
いくら、総理大臣の問責決議が参議院で可決され、衆議院議員選挙が近いからといって、国会議員たるもの、国会審議を放置するのは、無責任すぎます。
多くの大事な法案が、廃案になりそうです。
馬鹿げています。
日本は、ますます国際社会から取り残されそうです。
野党の民主党も、いくら政権交代の可能性が大だとしても、国の政治は、与野党が協力して、粛々と動かすべきでしょう。

Hay muchos casos en los que mujeres japonesas se divorcian de sus esposos extranjeros y retornan a Japón con sus hijos. Ésto y el hecho de que Japón no haya firmado el Tratado es la razón por la cual países como Canadá y Estados Unidos critican a Japón.[…]
Después de las elecciones de la Asamblea Metropolitana de Tokio, discusiones sobre este tratado no tuvieron mayor lugar en la Dieta. Sin embargo, ¿no es el trabajo de los miembros del Parlamento legislar para mejorar el funcionamiento de nuestras leyes y tratados? Aun cuando la Cámara Alta apruebe una moción de censura en contra del Primer Ministro Aso, es totalmente irresponsable que miembros de la Dieta abandonen este debate con el pretexto de que las elecciones llegaron a su fin. Un gran número de proyectos de ley serán probablemente abandonados.
Y esto es absurdo ya que tarde o temprano la comunidad internacional excluirá a Japón.
Aunque el partido opositor actual, el DPJ, tenga grandes posibilidades de alcanzar el poder, éste debería colaborar con el gobierno de turno por la política nacional y actuar con dignidad.

Asimismo, otro abogado, Mori, expresa su opinión acerca de la problemática del secuestro infantíl. No obstante, Mori no está tan seguro de la “internacionalidad” del problema.

日本人女性が外国人と結婚し、子供を産んだ。しかし、夫婦仲がうまくいかず、子供を連れて日本に帰国した。
我々日本人からすると、「フーン」と思うだけである。
ま、「夫婦仲が悪い夫が、ある日、会社から帰ると、妻は子供連れて実家に帰り、家の中はもぬけのからだった」、というのは、日本では日常的で、これが離婚訴訟で問題になることもない。

Una mujer japonesa se casa con un extranjero y tienen un hijo. Con el tiempo, el matrimonio no funciona y ella decide llevarse a su hijo de regreso a Japón. Nosotros, los japoneses, reaccionamos con un simple “mm”.
Historias como las del marido “malvado” que un día regresa del trabajo y no encuentra a nadie en la casa porque la esposa regresó con sus padres son muy comunes y no constituyen una razón para realizar un juicio de divorcio.

しかし、外国では、こういう行為は子供を奪い取る「犯罪行為」と考えているところがかなりある。
特に、日本人女性の場合、日本に帰ると「聞く耳を持たない」という感じで、夫から手紙が来ても無視し、あるいは居場所さえ知らせない、というケースがある。
[…]そこで、米英仏などが、日本に、このハーグ条約への加盟を強く迫っている。しかし、取引法の分野と異なり、家事法の分野は、なんでもかんでもグロー バル化すれば良いというものではない。やはり、各国の文化にあわせた処理を行うべきで、ハーグ条約への加盟すべきか、安易に結論をだすべきではない

Sin embargo, en otros lugares este hecho se denomina “secuestro infantil” y se lo considera un delito.
Existen casos, en especial de mujeres japonesas, en los que ellas no escuchan a sus ex-esposos, ignoran sus cartas y hasta evitan darle información sobre su paradero.
[…] Es por esto que Estados Unidos, el Reino Unido y Francia presionan a Japón para que se una a la Convención de Protección de la Niñez de La Haya.
Tales casos no se aplican a la ley Internacional sino a la ley del país; además no es bueno globalizar cada caso en particular. Cada país debería ser libre para tratar con esta problemática de acuerdo a su propia cultura. Por esto, no es fácil decir, con absoluta seguridad, si un pais debe o no firmar el tratado.

El problema del secuestro infantil no sólo tiene su impacto en los padres occidentales; así lo explica el director de un blog/agencia que organiza matrimonios internacionales:

また、日本国内でも中国人と結婚した日本人男性から「妻が無断で子を連れて中国へ帰ってしまった。子を連れ戻したい」という多数の相談が外務省などに寄せられているらしい。
その一方、日本人男性と中国人女性の夫婦が日本国内で離婚し、裁判で親権を争うと、今後、中国人女性側は子供と会ってはいけないという結果がでている話を数件聞いている。
どちらにしろ罪の無い子供たちが一番苦しんでいるはずだ。
はやく、日本国内での法律の整備が必要と感じる。

Alrededor de 80 países occidentales han ratificado la Convención de La Haya pero Japón, Korea, China y Filipinas no lo han hecho aún.
Tengo entendido que el Ministro de Asuntos Exteriores de Japón tiene una gran cantidad de casos en los que hombres japoneses, casados con mujeres chinas, se quejan y dicen cosas como “Mi esposa se fue a China con el niño sin mi consentimiento. ¡Quiero a mi hijo de vuelta!”
Por otro lado también hay casos en los que un hombre japonés, casado con una mujer china, se divorcia en Japón y cuando ambos luchan por la custodia en tribunales, es a menudo la mujer china a la que se le termina negando el acceso a su hijo.
En cualquiera de los casos, los únicos inocentes que sufren estas situaciones son los niños.
Creo que Japón debería promover una ley nacional para que esta situación se solucione lo antes posible.

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An American father on a mission to reclaim his young children in Japan was arrested for allegedly abducting them while they were walking to school with his ex-wife, officials said Wednesday.

Christopher John Savoie snatched his two children — an 8-year-old boy and 6-year-old girl — by force early Monday in Fukuoka, said Akira Naraki, a police spokesman in the city.

"He shoved them into a car and drove away," Naraki said.

Savoie, 38, was arrested by police as he tried to enter the U.S. Consulate in Fukuoka with the kids, said Tracy Taylor, a spokeswoman at the consulate.

He was arrested after his ex-wife, Noriko, alerted the police.

The divorced couple and the two children were living in Tennessee, but Noriko Savoie came to Japan with the two children in August without informing her ex-husband, Taylor said.

Custody battles between Japanese mothers and foreign husbands are not uncommon in Japan, which has not yet signed the 1980 Hague Convention on International Child Abduction. The aim of the convention is to standardize laws to ensure custody decisions can be made by the appropriate courts and to preserve access rights for both parents.

Japan has argued that refusing to sign the Hague Convention has helped shield Japanese women and their children from abusive foreign husbands.

In Japan, if a couple gets divorced, one parent — normally the mother — often wins sole custody of the children.

Taylor said officials at the U.S. Consulate have made two visits to Savoie, who now has American and Japanese lawyers.

Japan's health insurance tied to visa renewal from 2010. Renovación de la visa en Japón unida a seguro de salud desde el 2010

En sus carteras o en sus hogares, tienen un papelito azul o rosado que muestra que están incritos en el sistema de salud japones y en el programa de pensiones? si no es asi, y piensan extender su estadía en Japón, deben revisar los requisitos nuevos que existen para renovar la visa de residencia en Japón. Hay cambios, los cuales el Minsiterio de Justicia afirma que implementó con el objetivo de "agilizar el proceso administrativo", y esto puede traer serias consequencias en el futuro para los extranjeros en Japón.

De acuerdo con la nueva ley de inmigración que pasó la tiene Japonesa, se les requerirá a los extranjeros residentes en Japón que muestren prueba de estar inscritos en el sistema de salud Japones si es que desean obtener o renover su visa a partir de Abril del 2010.

Lo mas importante es saber que todos los residentes en Japón deben estar inscritos en 1 o los 2 sistemas (el de salud y el de pensiones). Según las autoridades japonesas, como esto es un requisito que se supone que todos cumplen pues no debería afectar a nadie, pero la realidad dista mucho de eso, como se va visto en manifestaciones hechas por extranjeros en protesta contra la nueva ley, muchos porque no conocian de estas opciones, otros porque les impide elegir entre un seguro nacional y uno privado de mejores condiciones, etc.

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In your wallet or somewhere at home, do you have a blue or pink card showing that you are enrolled in one of Japan's national health and pension programs? If not, and if you are thinking of extending your stay here, you may want to think about a recent revision to visa requirements for foreign residents. The changes, which the Justice Ministry says were made in order to "smooth out the administrative process," may have major consequences for foreign residents and their future in Japan.

According to a new immigration law passed by the Diet , foreign residents will be required to show proof of enrollment in Japan's health insurance program in order to renew or apply for a visa after April 1, 2010.

Surrounded by giant protest signs, leaflets and a Che Guevara poster, a quiet anxiety hung in the room as participants listened to the seminar. A handful of attendees were young, but most were middle-aged or approaching retirement age. Many had been working in Japan for years and had never been told anything about insurance, while others were aware of the program but had been dissuaded by their employers from joining it.

Louis Carlet, deputy secretary of Nambu, laid it down for everyone in the room to understand. There are a few basic things that all foreigners in Japan have to know, he explained: first, that everyone over the age of 20 in Japan is required to enroll in an approved Japanese government health insurance scheme and pension fund. If you are under 75 and working at a company that employs more than five people, this most likely means the shakai hoken (social insurance) program; if you are unemployed, self-employed or retired, the equivalent system is the kokumin kenko hoken and kokumin nenkin (national health insurance and pension). The only people exempt are sailors, day laborers, and those working for companies employing less than five people, or for firms without a permanent address (e.g. a film set).

The two systems cover different ground, all of which is explained in detail at www.sia.go.jp/e/ehi.html. Roughly, shakai hoken consists of two parts: kenko hoken (health insurance), which covers 70 percent of your medical costs and 60 percent of lost wages due to illness, and kosei nenkin (pension insurance), which provides a pension after age 65 for those who have paid into the system. The two are inseparable, and anyone enrolled in shakai hoken through their employer automatically pays into both. The kokumin kenko hoken (national health insurance) and kokumin nenkin (national pension) package offers similar coverage but is not provided through an employer.

The bottom line is that all residents of Japan (except those mentioned above) have to be enrolled in one or other of the two systems. The revised visa laws, therefore, should pose no threat to anyone's visa renewal, because every foreigner in Japan should already be enrolled.

However, the reality is that most foreigners in Japan do not have either form of insurance. For example, a 2004 survey by Hiroshi Kojima of the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research found that only 28.3 percent of Japanese Brazilians in Iwata City, Shizuoka Pref., had any kind of health insurance, and that of these only a third were enrolled in shakai hoken. Another survey in 2009 found that just one out of 27 manufacturing companies had enrolled its foreign employees in workers' compensation, leaving thousands of foreigners ineligible for any form of assistance when the economic downturn hit Japan last year, leading to mass layoffs.

"I've been in Japan for the last 15 years, and nobody told me about these programs," said one attendee at the seminar, triggering a wave of nervous nods around the room. "What's going to happen to me? Can I get my past employers to pay up?"

When insurance becomes a requirement for visa renewal next year, those who are not currently enrolled may be obliged to pay for fees that should have been deducted from their salaries had they been properly enrolled by their companies. While the government can only bill employers and employees up to the past two years, it's a sizable sum of money that many people may not have readily available. Mercifully, local ward offices (kuyakusho) generally allow new enrollees to pay in installments, but their employers may not be so lucky if they are found to have knowingly broken the law by failing to enroll staff in national insurance.

If employers in Japan are obliged to register all employees in shakai hoken, why have so many foreigners been left out?

The chief reason is cost: Carlet explained that companies are required to cover at least 50 percent of their employees' pension and health insurance premiums, which works out to roughly a tenth of the monthly salary. That's about ¥30,000 monthly for every worker earning a salary of ¥250,000 — a huge sum of money that can threaten the very survival of a business.

"Billions of yen are at stake for the companies," stressed Carlet, noting that foreigners are often offered higher wages than their Japanese counterparts to make up for the fact that have to pay for their own private insurance.

Foreign workers often hear a litany of reasons why they should not be enrolled in shakai hoken, or are simply not told about it at all. Employers would have a much tougher time leaving their Japanese staff off the system, argues Carlet, as many associate shakai hoken with a certain social status — those left out of the system tend to be in insecure employment such as day labor and very short-term contract work. For many Japanese workers, nonenrollment implies that their company either doesn't value them as a long-term employee or simply doesn't have the funds to cover the cost of insurance.

Apart from the sizable dent it makes on the average paycheck, there are a number of reasons why shakai hoken can seem unappealing for foreigners. For starters there's the pension: Even though foreigners are required to pay into the system, they won't actually get the money back until they have paid in for at least 25 years. Those who don't spend a quarter of a century diligently paying pension fees in Japan can use a kara kikan (empty period) option that allows workers to count years spent working abroad, but only provided that they get permanent residency in Japan before turning 65.

The laws aren't so accommodating for those who choose to leave Japan permanently and want to claim their money back. As Masahito Azuma, a representative of the Social Insurance Agency (SIA), explains, there is "a lump sum known as dattai ichijikin (lump-sum withdrawal payment) that repays up to three years of contributions (¥249,480)."

But how about if you have contributed money into the pension scheme for more than 10 years? "The maximum (payout) is still three years." Azuma adds that you would also have to file your application within two years of leaving Japan.

As for health insurance, some foreign workers find little comfort in the fact that shakai hoken covers most of their medical costs, because some well-known English-speaking clinics don't accept Japanese insurance anyway. For example, at the Hiroo International Clinic based in Minami-Azabu, one of Tokyo's most diverse neighborhoods, patients can receive medical services in impeccable English, but none of the costs would be covered by Japanese insurance.

"You would have to pay the full cost upfront," explains Dr. Isao Tsutsumi, adding that his clinic doesn't accept Japanese insurance because it would oblige him to see Japanese patients and lead to reduced time for individual patients.

It's not clear why these changes are occurring now. When pressed for an explanation, a representative of the Ministry of Justice (who declined to give her name) replied that it was merely carrying out the Cabinet's three-year plan for regulatory reform.

"We're simply acting on the suggestions of the government and the Immigration Bureau," she said. "The new rule would help the bureau confirm the situation of those enrolled in social insurance, and also encourage the enrollment of those who haven't done so already."

Regardless of how people feel about the national health insurance system, the fact is that enrollment is mandatory for residents of Japan, and the new visa requirement merely draws attention to this.

Carlet finds it "bizarre" that some firms claim their foreign workers wanted to be left off the pension and insurance schemes; it's the law, he says, and employees can "opt out" of it no more than Warren Buffett can "opt out" of paying income tax.

Unfortunately, many companies get away with hiring foreigners without enrolling them in pension and insurance plans because the SIA tends not to crack down on employers with uninsured workers unless certain standards are violated. For example, companies legally have to enroll part-timers if they have been working for the firm more than two months, but the SIA doesn't necessarily investigate unless an employee is working three-quarters of the hours of a full-time employee (30 hours in most cases). Some language schools get around this by counting only the lesson hours of their employees (28 hours per week maximum) and ignoring their preparation time, while others claim their instructors are subcontractors, who are not eligible for benefits, rather than actual employees.

It's a lot like driving on a road with an 80-kph limit: It's illegal to drive 85 kph, but police will only crack down on those going 90 and over, leading many employers to break the law with impunity.

When national health insurance becomes a visa condition in April, many companies will be forced to address these issues as some foreign employees decide to settle in Japan. Clyde Grimm, a curriculum supervisor at the Kanda Institute of Foreign Languages, explains that many foreigners come to work in Japan and end up committed to living in the country. "A lot of us weren't planning to stay for long," he shrugs. "But you meet someone, you get married, and you might end up spending your whole life in Japan."

Whether intended or not, one consequence of forcing non-Japanese residents to become fully paid-up members of society with access to Japan's social safety net may be that more foreigners feel they have a stake in staying on and making Japan their permanent home.

While it may result in administrative nightmares, the new visa requirements could lead to shifting dynamics between foreigners and their Japanese employers. No longer can these workers be viewed as shifty, temporary staff existing separately from their Japanese colleagues in a legal twilight zone of Japanese labor practices.

First lay judge trial kicks off in Tokyo. Inicia primer juicio con jurado en Japón

El 21 de mayo fue el primer día de la introducción del sistema de jueces legos en Japón, saiban'in seido (裁 判員制度) en japonés. Los primeros juicios en el que se aplicará el nuevo sistema empezarán en julio, y se convocará a seis ciudadanos para examinar y juzgar casos penales junto con tres jueces profesionales de cortes de distrito.

Se dice que el sistema es un paso adelante en el sistema japonés de administración de justicia y con él, el país estará en el mismo nivel que otros países del G8.

Sin embargo, a pesar de numerosos intentos del Ministerio de Justicia para familiarizar a las personas con el sistema (a través de videos gratuitos disponibles en las tiendas de alquiler de videos o por medio de caricaturas como esta [jp]), la mayoría de ciudadanos japoneses parecen estar perplejos y bastante inquietos sobre las consecuencias que pueda traer un juez lego, como informó una reciente encuesta de CNET Japan.

La encuesta muestra que 65.1% de los encuestados (361 personas de entre 30 y 40 años) se declararon en contra de la participación de ciudadanos comunes en el proceso de juzgamiento. Se han dado múltiples razones pero las principales fueron ‘no me gusta juzgar a otros’ (52.8%), ‘no quiero tener problemas’ (44.3%) y ‘no confío en mi juicio’ (43.8%).

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The first trial involving lay judges kicked off in the Tokyo District Court with Katsuyoshi Fujii, 72, pleading guilty to murdering his neighbor, Mun Chun Ja, 66, in May.

Before introduction of the lay judge system, which entails six citizens sitting with three professional judges to try serious criminal trials, Japan was the only Group of Eight nation whose public did not participate in criminal trials, according to the Japan Federation of Bar Associations. Japan had a jury system between 1928 and 1943, but only on a limited basis.

Many people remain reluctant to participate in the new system, in which they will have to reach verdicts and hand down sentences, including the death penalty, opinion polls show.

Fujii's trial is scheduled to last three days, followed by closed-door deliberations by the lay and professional judges, who are to decide the verdict based on evidence, and the possible sentence.

The verdict must be decided by a conditional majority vote where at least one professional judge must be included in the majority decision.

Previously, defendants entered the courtroom after all the judges took their seats. The change in the process was a compromise made by the Justice Ministry after the Japan Federation of Bar Associations argued that seeing defendants in handcuffs could have a negative influence on the lay judges. Defendants also used to sit in front of the lawyers.They said Fujii has a criminal record, had a strong intent to kill Mun and chased her around with a knife, shouting he was going to kill her.appeared to listen intently as they used documents distributed by both parties to follow along with the presentations.According to the court, 47 prospective lay judges showed up at the courthouse in Chiyoda Ward as of 9:10 a.m. out of 49 who were summoned.
The law sets a maximum ¥100,000 fine for people who fail to show up to be a lay judge candidate on the designated date "without due reasons."

The candidates were given an orientation session. After a DVD presentation explaining what they were expected to do as lay judges, the candidates were briefed on the case by a court official and were asked to respond to a questionnaire asking whether they knew the defendant, the victim or their families, or if any serious hardship prevented them from serving.

Juan Luis Guerra is coming to Japan!!. Juan Luis Guerra viene a Japón!!!. フアン・ルイス・ゲラ 日本に来る!!!

It is officially confirmed that Juan Luis Guerra & 440 are coming to Japan. They will be presenting in Fukuoka on August 9th and in Tokyo on the 11th.

Es oficial!!!!! Juan Luis Guerra y 440 vienen para Japón. Ellos se van a presentar en Fukuoka el 9 de Agosto y en Tokyo el día 11.

They will take part in the Latin festival "ISLA DE SALSA" that is organized every year by Tiempo Iberoamericano, that my boss Mr. Otsuka Fusaori is the president. It will be an event withouth precedent in Japan!, so don´t miss your chance to enjoy LIVE his music.

Ellos participaran como el evento principal del Festival "ISLA DE SALSA" que organiza cada año Tiempo Iberoamericano, organización sin fines de lucro que mi jefe el señor Otsuka Fusanori preside. Esto será un evento sin precedentes en Japón, así que no se vayan a perder esta oportunidad de disfrutar en VIVO de su musica!!!.

Besides them the people who attend will be able to enjoy the following artists.

Además las personas que participen en el evento podrán disfrutar de los siguientes artistas.

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