Regarding Mark Smith's Aug. 7 article, "U.S. takes tougher line on parental abductions": It is very good that this issue has received some attention from The Japan Times. Being denied access to a parent or child is nothing less than a violation of human rights. I am in a similar situation.
I haven't seen my 4-year-old daughter for nine months. The Mito family court granted me visitation rights, but my ex-fiancee is able to simply ignore the court. I understand that the court cannot, and probably should not, try to physically force a visit. However, when I attempted to claim financial compensation for the lack of access (as a means of negotiation), the court told me that since my ex says she doesn't want to pay the money, there is nothing it can do.
I believe that if the courts had more power to impose financial penalties on those who defy its rulings, then a lot of these problems would not occur. As it stands now, the family court is a body that enforces the law of suggestions. There is no accountability or consequence for those who act selfishly or maliciously.
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