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Back to Family Court in Japan... Home  > Stories > Back to Family Court in Japan... Hello everyone, I presently on my 3rd round at family court in Japan. The 1st round was held in 1999/2000. No contract. The 2nd round was held in 2001. A contract was enacted but a certain mediator may have failed to convey information on verbal promises to the judge in regards to my son obtaining his Canadian Citizenship and Canadian Passport as well as my not having to pay child support should my X renege on this contract. It was the only way that I would endorse the contract if these conditions were agreed upon by all parties even though it couldn't be written into the contract. The mediator informed me that everyone had agreed to the above mentioned verbal promises. That's what the bilingual mediator informed me so I put my seal on it. I made a terrible mistake in trusting the mediator. Also, regarding one point of the contract, she said "as a sign of good faith..." was written into the contract for some extra money that my X wanted. After translating it a few years later it said "failed to pay". Boy was I surprised. And my X reneged on the contract since 2001 of course. But I kind of turned a blind eye towards some of her faults because I was still seeing my son 3 times a month. The 3rd round started this January of 2007. Since my X stopped allowing me to see my son as of September 6th, 2004. I continued to pay child support up to the end of December 2005. I had even tried to communicate with her on many occasions and even sent registered letters to all three of her residences(although she lives in the last of the 3 with my son, they still go to the other two residences constantly). Regarding the last residence, she went into hiding for a year without even telling me where it was. And of course my son whom my present wife bumped into occasionally said that he couldn't tell her the address because she was a stranger, and me the address as well because I would visit. Hmmm. Sounds like PAS. Anyway, some really nice people in city hall including the help of a lawyer helped me find the new address. That's where I sent the 3rd registered letter to. Of course I can't visit there because then I'll be asked to go back to the police station again and they'll accuse me of being a stalker and try to force me to sign a paper in Japanese that I don't understand (which of course I'll refuse to sign) again. In regards to family court, the X only informed them about my not paying child support since March 2005. Hmmm. She lied again and I made sure to it that she lost face again. They also informed me that the reason I couldn't see my son was because he didn't want to see me. Thankfully I bumped into to him on December 1st, 2005. After he scanned the area briefly, he talked to me and said that he loved me and wanted to go to Canada with me one day to see his relatives etc...So I mentioned to him that when that day comes, we'll definitely go but only for a vacation and back to Japan afterwards. Well he gave me a big smile, we talked a little bit more and then we split up. When PAS is involved in his case it probably works like this. If any of the members from the Japanese side of his family are around, he'll say to them he doesn't want to see me to make them happy. If they're nearby, he'll pretend to avoid me. But when none of them are around after he scans the area, he's really happy and talkative. So I guess I'll just have to be patient. The X may be winning the battles but I'll probably win the war. It's just a matter of time. So in regards to the 3rd round, I have new mediators, a stenographer and I guess a new judge as well. I kind of presented them with ample information in regards to the previous mediator, the contract, the verbal promises, as well as the X. Looking forward to seeing what happens this February 14th. My son's presently 12 going on 13 in September. Also, if anyone knows the record for amount of rounds in a family court, please let me know. I'm on my 3rd and the way things are going I'm sure I'll have the opportunity for a 4th and 5th as well. In the meantime enjoy and think positive!!! Steven Posted By: Steven R. Leduc 2/4/2007 Order: Oldest First Newest First MF (2 posts) 2/17/2007 11:14:07 AM re: Back to Family Court in Japa...   profile Good Luck Steven. I havent seen my daughter for almost 2 years Steven R. Leduc (7 posts) 2/18/2007 5:43:19 PM re: Back to Family Court in Japa...   profile Regarding an update... As for court, my former wife gave up on the mediation hearing and wished to end it right away if possible. The judge was also considering to issue a "per diem" court order to try and force me to pay up on child support but my X was against it. The judge said that my X needed time to think things out. I'm not sure if that's good or bad though. Also, during the previous mediation hearing, I gave my X the information crnjapan.com informed me about on a Japanese father who successfully sued his X for 5,000,000 yen in 1999 because she refused to let him see his children. Even though he still couldn't see his children afterwards, his former X still had to pay him compensation for failing to abide by their contract. That case may have played a significant role. After making some quick calculations, the amount of child support payments that I would have to make until my son reaches 20 years of age would total 1,860,000 yen. Considering that my X has failed to abide by most aspects of the contract since its enactment in 2001 and the last remaining aspect as of 2004, that the year is now 2007. That if I were to counter sue her for not following the contract(most likely take 2 to 3 years in court pushing the date up to 2010), technically if the law is followed to the point, my compensation would put me well over the previous amount of 5,000,000 yen from the above mentioned case that crnjapan.com informed me about and that is listed on the crnjapan.com website. I made it clear in court the month before that if a "per diem" court order were issued, I would counter sue my X for failing to abide by our court mediated contract. So I guess my X did her math. It's nice to know that I can take her to court for a change and seek compensation. Unfortunately, she has enough problems as it is and I don't want to continue arguing with her in court anyway. Regarding the verbal promises, I can assume they were respected in a way. I was informed by the judge that my X had carried out the promises in 2001 for Canadian Citizenship and a Canadian Passport for our son since he's dual nationality. But I then added that it takes one year on average to issue both and that the year was now 2007. Regarding "has failed to pay" vs "as a sign of good faith", the judge wouldn't give me an answer to this question that I inquired about after handing them(the judge and mediators) some paperwork last month(that's mentioned in my book about a clerk refusing to accept a letter to hand to the judge of my case) back in 2001. I also asked about the other aspects of that letter but couldn't get answers as well. The judge and the mediators weren't in a position to comment on those points. It's too bad the case ended so abruptly, I was planning to give them the "brief history" translated into Japanese. That would have updated them on my problem. Regarding the judge and mediators for these mediation sessions, I'd have to say they were pretty fair and impartial except for the male mediator. Considering they were all new to my case with my X, they were definitely presented with an interesting case in which there was a high probability of very little success. Another note that I'd like to inform you about. The judge informed me(and my X as well) that the next time we go back to court, that we should hire a professional interpreter for future court sessions. That the average fee was between 30,000yen and 40,000yen for two hours. And that my X as well as I were responsible for paying the fees 50/50 for the interpreter. My X of course refused. As for myself it was the first time I've ever heard of this. The judge was simply straight forward. She surprised and impressed me on that one. Well that's about it for the update. The 3rd round of family court has now ended. Until the 4th round begins... In the meantime enjoy and think positive!!! Steven Edited 2/18/2007 5:46:08 PM jimmydae (2 posts) 3/21/2007 3:14:09 AM re: Mutually Consent Divorce   profile Dear Steve and all others, I am foreigner and do not speak japanese and do not know japanese law. My ex wanted the mutually consent divorce. I just wanted to know if after the mutual consent divorce, I am legally bind to pay my ex any monies or compensation?? Please kindly advise. We help each other please. JD

FRIJ recommends you also visit crn japan, who are fighting international abduction to Japan and working to assure children in Japan of meaningful contact with both parents regardless of marital status