International child abduction in Asia

Accepting and implementing the 1980 Hague Convention has been a challenge for Japan and other Asian countries because of their divergent culture and family law traditions. Since the turn of the 21st century, however, eight out of 101 contracting States have joined the Convention from Asia. To analyse the advantages and challenges for Asian States to implement the Child Abduction Convention, this chapter discusses the background of Japan accepting the Convention and its efforts to implement the Convention by developing legislation, case law, and practice. This chapter highlights the characteristics, advantages and remaining challenges in the Japanese system, before examining the situation in some other States in Asia.