Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Thursday urged Japan to adopt the Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Abduction of Children, which has been called for by foreign parents who claim their children have been "kidnapped" across national borders by their former Japanese spouses with the aim of preventing access.
Harper raised the topic during his talks with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda in Tokyo on Thursday. Fukuda told Harper that the Japanese government will discuss related issues to consider the possibility of signing the treaty.
"It is important to consider the issue by prioritizing the welfare of children," a Foreign Ministry official quoted Fukuda as saying. The prime minister told Harper that he viewed the convention as a beneficial tool to secure children's rights, the official said.