A Paris court has issued an international arrest warrant for the Japanese wife of a French national for alleged abductions after she ran off with their two children and refused to let him see them, sources close to the matter said Tuesday.
The Frenchman, 39-year-old Vincent Fichot, made headlines during the summer when he staged a hunger strike near National Stadium ahead of the Tokyo Olympics to raise awareness of the issue, which Japanese police did not investigate. French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the matter with then-Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga during his visit to Japan for the sporting event.
Fichot's case is one of a number of similar cases involving Japanese spouses, but it is rare for such cases to lead to the issuance of an arrest warrant.