Senate Estimates provides an opportunity for us to raise concerns from our constituents. One such issue I brought up was the abduction of Australian children to Japan.
I asked the panel if they were aware of the situation and the Secretary, a former ambassador to Japan, responded by explaining that Australia has been actively working with Japan to update its family law system. He mentioned that joint custody would be introduced in Japan by 2026.
Senator Penny Wong confirmed this and elaborated on the steps Australia has taken to address this tragic situation where families are being separated.
Transcript
Senator ROBERTS: Thank you, Chair. Thank you for appearing today. I have two issues. The first one is that it has been drawn to my attention a growing problem related to the breakdown of the family law system in Australia. Some children of a broken marriage are being taken by a parent or family member out of the country to avoid the implementation of court orders related to custody of a child and to prevent a parent from accessing the child or children of the relationship. I have deep concern about the growing practice of taking children to Japan, where local law does not assist or provide for the return of the child to the country of usual habitation. There are now many Australian children, perhaps in the hundreds, living in Japan prevented from returning to their family, friends and home in Australia. Is the Australian government aware of this practice?
Ms Adams: Senator, we are aware of the issues in Japan with child custody and child abduction; that is the term we use.
Senator ROBERTS: That is an accurate description. Is the Australian government aware that the Japanese government has promoted this practice actively through seminars as an option for parents in Australia?
Ms Adams: I’m not aware of that, Senator.
Senator ROBERTS: What can be done by the Australian government, in liaising with the Japanese government, to have these children returned to Australia?
Ms Adams: We have been very active on this issue in Japan for many years now. I know this personally, having been ambassador to Japan and having been involved in these issues, including direct conversations with ministers responsible for justice and parliamentarians and other advocates for child custody reform. The issue has been raised through different governments, I would say, at ministerial and, indeed, leader level. We have been encouraged by some movement in Japan towards modernising, I would say, custody arrangements. It’s a major reform work that we have been advocating for. I will finish by saying that we welcome the passage of the legislative reforms that will allow for joint custody from mid-2026.
Senator ROBERTS: So, your efforts are ongoing, I take it?
Ms Adams: Yes.
Senator ROBERTS: There are some signs of hope in Japan?
Senator Wong: If I may, I will add to the secretary’s answer. I will see if anyone can add specifically on the progress of the domestic reforms. First, this is a very distressing situation for many parents. I have engaged with some. Their heartbreak is completely understandable and clear and patent. We continue to provide consular support for them.
As foreign minister, I did believe it was important to advocate on their behalf. I can tell you that I raised this issue personally with former foreign minister Hayashi as well as the next former foreign minister Kamikawa, both predecessors and foreign ministers while I have been in this job. We have encouraged them to find a solution to allow children to maintain meaningful relationships with both their parents. We were pleased to see some progress in terms of the domestic legislation. In this case, others may have more information about that. We understand that there’s more to be done. I can say to you as the foreign minister and from the ambassador and system perspective that we continue to put our view about the importance of this and the experience of families in this situation.
Senator ROBERTS: Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Ms Adams.
Senator Wong: I can take you through some of the things. There has been a submission to the Ministry of Justice in Japan.
Senator ROBERTS: I was going to ask about that. From the Japanese I’ve dealt with, I know that they are very polite and very conservative people. I didn’t want to put you on the spot because it might jeopardise the negotiations.
Senator Wong: That’s very kind. I think we can talk about the public things we have done. I think Mr Maclachlan is about to do that.
Mr Maclachlan: As the minister and the secretary have outlined, Senator, Japan has introduced legislative reforms. It has implemented them. They will come into effect in mid-2026. They will effectively allow for the joint custody of children. We are continuing to work with Japan to encourage, if you like, the implementation of these laws in a way that would actually allow for children to have relationships with both parents. Of course, the actual outcome in individual cases will actually be determined by the circumstances of individual parents and children. They will need to continue their work and to seek Japanese legal advice in relation to that.
This legislation builds on a long period of advocacy. The minister has outlined her work. I would add to that. The Attorney-General, Mr Dreyfus, exchanged letters on the issue in October last year with former justice minister Koizumi and former justice minister Saito in March 2023. The embassy also supported a visit to Japan in April this year by the honourable Justice Victoria Bennett of the Federal Circuit and Family Court. It was to share some of our experiences with the implementation of family law and how we deal with some of these matters to, if you like, help Japan’s system see the benefits of reform. Our ambassador in Japan and, I dare say, the secretary, when she was ambassador in Japan, were also engaged with officials in the Japanese system to advocate for these reforms.
In February this year, as part of a public consultation on the proposed family law reform in Japan, we made a joint submission with AGD to that effect. We continue to do that. We remain available, of course, with the Japanese to help if they have questions about the practical implementation of their law.
Of course, there’s also the consular side of this. At the end of the day, we’re talking about parents and children and Australians. The embassy is doing what it can to assist Australians who are affected by the present circumstance. We provide parents with regular updates on developments. The most recent time we did that was on 30 September. We’re also supporting a visit by the Japanese Ministry of Justice to Australia this year to, again, get first-hand experience, if you like, of how our family law system operates here.
I would say that it’s a mixed marriage where more than likely the wife was Japanese and the husband an Aussie , due to cultural differences & marriage incompatibility it has ended and she has taken the child back to Japan where the child would have a better upbringing than here not to mention being around others with whom they can feel comfortable and have things in common like language ,,! This is because Japanese have a strong identity and would have a harder time adapting to this life . If the father is serious about time together with the child then he should make arrangements to go over there to spend time together . , moving the child back and forth on a plane to and from Australia will be a problem especially if they are very young and who’s going to guarantee that the father won’t disappear with the child out of spite ? Most marriages I’ve found between Australian men and Japanese women collapse due to lack of input by the father money example , lack of respect and understanding on the father’s part and the Japanese women being ending up carrying a huge burden of bringing up the child and bringing home the bacon .
Next point is very rarely will a couple from Japan come here have a child and one of the parents return should the marriage fail .
On one more note ; a woman who took her child back to Taiwan without going through the legal process had the child physically removed and bought back to Australia by authorities to the Australian father . The father disbanded the child after a few years so the mother in Taiwan came over to resume parenting the child of whom by now at the point of time was getting in trouble with the law . Because the mother felt she had let the child down spoiled her child and now he’s in trouble with the law frequently .
In my opinion it would have been better if the child had stayed with the mother in Taiwan .