by Jeremy D. Morley
By decision dated December 21, 2017 the Supreme Court of
Japan has upheld the decision of the Osaka High Court to dismiss the petition
under The Hague Abduction Convention to return four children who were abducted
to Japan by their Japanese mother from their home in Minnesota in 2014, where
they were born and had always lived.
I have previously discussed the case in detail and have
explained that it supports the claim that the Hague Abduction Convention is
fundamentally unworkable in Japan. See my article at:
Nonetheless there was some hope that the Supreme Court would
correct the problem, at least for the four children in question and their
left-behind father. However, the Court has now dismissed the appeal and has
ordered that the children will not be returned to the United States.
I will provide an analysis of the ruling shortly.