Last week we wrote about the issue of parental child abductions and Japan, and how American parents have lost their children because their former partners returned to Japan unannounced with their children. Many of the parental child abductions have occurred despite American parents having full child custody and Japanese parents having to surrender their passports by court order. In this post we will discuss some of the stories of American parents who have experienced the issue.

One parent who has had to deal with the pain of losing his children because of parental child abduction is a 26-year-old father and former Marine sergeant. The former Marine met a Japanese national while stationed in Japan in 2004. The two dated for a while and the relationship stopped when the Marine returned to the United States. Soon after his return to the United States, the Marine received a phone call from his former Japanese girlfriend and found out she was pregnant. The two married and their daughter was born in 2006. The two lived in New Jersey and the couple had a son while the Marine served in Iraq. After his return from service, the former Marine said his marriage felt completely different.

The two separated and even though his former wife had been ordered by a court to surrender her children's passports, the Marine's former wife was able to board a plane to Japan in Chicago with duplicate passports. At the family's former house, the 26-year-old father has left his children's rooms untouched to preserve their memory. He has his children's names tattooed on his arm to remind everyone that he will not stop fighting for his kids.

Another father who lost his daughter has the unique experience of a Japanese court recognizing his U.S. child custody order. Even though Japanese courts recognize the father as a custodial parent, his ability to see his daughter in Japan has been mired. The father visited Japan seven times over the last year and was only allowed to see his daughter twice. The visitations were court monitored and held in rooms with two-way mirrors. He says every time he goes to Japan he is happy to "walk on the same streets" as his daughter.

No parent in the United States has been successful in the return of their child from Japan. Even completing a video chat is nearly impossible. Parents who request to video chat or speak with their children in Japan are met with demands for money guised in the name of child support. Parents in the United States rarely pay making any sort of relationship with their child impossible.

Source: ABCnews.go.com, "Abducted to Japan: Hundreds of American children taken," Sarah Netter and Abbie Boudreau, 2/16/11