The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction went into effect here on April 1, 2014, but there is another Hague treaty that Japan has yet to sign.

The purpose of the Hague Adoption Convention is to prevent the trafficking of children, and Japan is alone among developed countries in its failure to implement rules that require follow-up scrutiny when a Japanese child is adopted by a foreign party. Several years ago some lawmakers formed a Diet group to address this matter, and one member, Seiko Noda, the Liberal Democratic Party's point person on child-rearing issues, proposed banning international adoptions of Japanese children because of the potential for abuse.

But for most Japanese orphans and abandoned/neglected children, international adoption may be their only chance to grow up in a family environment. According to Human Rights Watch, only 12 percent of the children who enter welfare facilities leave before they reach the age of majority. For various reasons, it is difficult for them to be adopted or taken into foster homes. Some reasons are procedural, but most are social. These children are considered damaged goods.