Japan is Hypocritical on Abduction Issue

Japanese persistence on holding North Korea accountable for the abduction of Japanese citizens in the 1970's and 1980's shows a remarkably hypocritical stance on the part of Japanese negotiators, and politicians. There are allegedly eight cases, involving 11 Japanese citizens who were abducted and believed to be in North Korea. There are currently thousands of children who have been abducted by Japanese citizens and remain in Japan despite the mounting pressure from countries including, Canada, France, the United States to name a few. These children, are for the most part, children born to unsuccessful international marriages.

The complacency of the average Japanese citizen has led to a public that is widely familiar with the plight of those handful of citizens who were snatched by North Korean spies. The population is generally extremely afraid of the threat from North Korea. However, the issue of children who are illegally brought to Japan and who are prevented from seeing their foreign parents remains largely hidden and under-reported in Japan.

The six party talks between North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States are an on-again, off-again affair aimed at the eventual denuclearization of North Korea. Japanese negotiators continue to insist that Pyongyang admits to sanctioning the abductions, while North Korea continues to insist that Japan not be a part of the talks.

The Japanese representatives need to drop this issue until they sign on to the Hague Convention, which deals with parental rights and child custody cases. Japan has not signed the 1980 convention despite promising rhetoric from the Democratic Party of Japan earlier this year. Japan remains the only first world country that endorses these abductions.

It is remarkable that Tokyo has the audacity to complain that North Korea abducted 11 of its citizens decades ago, while Japanese citizens are continuing to deny foreign parents the right to be part of their child's lives, after the relationship sours.