The recent reporting on Japan’s parental child abduction problem highlights a sharp contrast between two family law cultures.
Japan
Japan has long been criticised for a system in which, after separation or divorce, one parent may effectively become the child’s sole legal gatekeeper.
England
English law starts from a very different premise: a child is not the possession of either parent, and major decisions about the child should normally be subject to shared parental responsibility, court oversight and, above all, the child’s welfare.
In England and Wales, the concept of parental responsibility is central. A mother automatically has it; a father will usually have it if married to the mother or named on the birth certificate, and others may acquire it by agreement or order. Parental responsibility is not extinguished simply because parents separate.
That means one parent cannot normally make unilateral, life-changing decisions—such as relocating a child abroad—without the agreement of others with parental responsibility or the court’s permission.
That approach is reinforced by the Children Act 1989:
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When the court determines arrangements for a child, the child’s welfare is its paramount consideration.
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The court may make child arrangements orders, prohibited steps orders or specific issue orders to regulate where a child lives, with whom they spend time, and whether a proposed move should be permitted.
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The focus is not on rewarding the parent who has physical control of the child, but on assessing the child’s welfare in a structured, evidence-based way.
English law also treats international removal seriously. Under the Child Abduction Act 1984, it can be a criminal offence for a connected person, including a parent, to take a child under 16 out of the United Kingdom without appropriate consent.
Civil remedies are equally important. In urgent cases, the High Court can make wardship orders, location orders, passport orders and port alerts designed to prevent removal or secure a child’s return.
Japan’s Position
Japan’s historic position has been markedly different. Until reforms taking effect in 2026, Japanese law did not recognise post-divorce joint parental authority. Custody after divorce was vested in one parent, and in practice the parent with physical possession of the child often had a powerful advantage.
The result, according to critics, was a system that could incentivise a parent to leave with the child first and litigate later. Contact with the left-behind parent could be limited and difficult to enforce.
Japan is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention, which is designed to secure the prompt return of children wrongfully removed or retained across borders. However, Hague remedies are procedural rather than a full answer to domestic custody culture.
They return the child to the country of habitual residence so that custody can be decided there; they do not guarantee meaningful contact, shared parenting or enforcement once a domestic order is made.
The 2026 Japanese reforms are therefore significant, but they should not be overstated. The new law introduces the possibility of joint parental authority after divorce, either by agreement or, in some cases, by order of the family court. Yet it appears directed mainly at legal decision-making rather than an English-style assumption that both parents should remain practically involved where safe and beneficial.
Questions remain over how Japanese courts will apply the reforms, how contact will be enforced, and how cases involving domestic abuse will be protected.
The Key Differences
The key difference, then, is not simply that English law is stricter. It is that English law embeds parental responsibility, court permission and welfare scrutiny before unilateral action becomes decisive.
Japan’s reform moves closer to that model, but the lived reality will depend on enforcement and judicial culture.
For international families, the practical lesson is clear: travel, relocation and separation planning should be legally documented before a dispute escalates. Once a child has crossed borders the law can become slower, more expensive and less predictable than any parent expects.
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This article: Created by AI and checked by a qualified solicitor. This article is intended as general commentary only and is not legal advice. Specific outcomes in family law depend on the facts of each case and the applicable law at the time.
