Divorced fathers in Japan typically don't get much access to their children because of widespread cultural beliefs that small children should be with their mothers.
Savoie had tried for a year to persuade a judge in Tennessee that his ex-wife, Noriko, was likely to flee the U.S. with their children, divorce records said.
The documents obtained Wednesday outline his attempts to restrict his ex-wife's ability to travel with their 8-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter, and her unhappiness with living in Franklin, Tenn., a Nashville suburb.
In a February e-mail, his ex-wife expressed her struggles in the U.S. He offered it to the court as proof she was threatening to leave:
"It's very difficult to watch kids becoming American and losing Japanese identity," she wrote. "I am at the edge of the cliff. I cannot hold it anymore if you keep bothering me."
On Aug. 13, Savoie learned that his children were gone when their school called to tell him they were absent.
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