International Child Abduction in Japan - International Marriage and Divorce in Japan

International Marriage and Divorce in Japan

Main article: International marriage (Japan) See also: Interracial marriage

Japan is experiencing a dramatic increase in the number of international marriages between a Japanese and a non-Japanese. In 2007, 40,272 international marriages between a Japanese national and foreigner occurred, representing 5.6% of total marriages (719,822). In 2000, the number was 36,263, and in 1980 the number was only 7,261. This is despite the fact that the foreigners represent only about 1.22% of the total population in Japan. An estimated 20,000 children are born to Japanese-foreign couples every year. The vast majority of these marriages are with Chinese and Koreans, many of whom are second- or third-generation permanent residents of Japan, also known as zainichi, and other neighboring nations such as the Philippines and Thailand. However, the cases of a Japanese woman marrying a foreign national husband, marriage to a U.S. national is high (1,485), ranking second after Korean nationals (2,209), followed by Chinese nationals (1,016).

At the same time, the number of international divorces in Japan is also increasing from 7,716 in 1992 to 18,220 in 2007. International divorces represent 7.15% of the total 254,832 divorces in Japan in 2007. Moreover, according to a 2007 figure, 10.53% of people under 20 experience the divorce of their parents. In 1990, the rate was 5.24%. In numerical terms, 245,685 under-20 year olds, had experienced the divorce of their parents, compared to 169,624 in 1990. In July 2008, Thierry Consigny of the Assembly for French Overseas Nationals (AFE) for Japan and North Asia, which has been advocating for right of foreign parents in Japan, further asserted that, according to a government survey, every year 166,000 children are separated from one of their parents in Japan following a divorce or separation, usually definitively. Furthermore 10,000 or more children of dual nationality fall into this situation as well. Foreign parents face an additional obstacle in maintaining access due to their immigration status which may be revoked after a divorce.