How to Apply for Assistance in Child’s Return to Japan

1. Before filing an application: Beware of reasons for dismissal.

If you have a child of yours removed from Japan to a Contracting State of the Hague Convention (1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction) or retained in a Contracting State, and if your rights of custody are breached, you can file an application with the Central Authority of Japan for assistance in order to realize the return of the child to Japan (Assistance in Child’s Return to Japan).

Your application, however, is to be dismissed if one of the following conditions is met. (Article 13, Paragraph (1),Act for Implementation of the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction). Therefore, before filing an application, you are advised to make sure that your case does not fall under any of the following reasons for dismissal.

[Reasons for dismissal]

The child pertaining to the application has attained the age of 16 years.
The State or territory where the child pertaining to the application is located is unclear.
It is obvious that the child pertaining to the application is located in Japan or any State or territory other than Contracting States.
It is obvious that the location of the child pertaining to the application and the domicile or residence (or the location of the office if the applicant is a corporation or other entity) of the applicant are in the same Contracting State.
It is obvious that the State of habitual residence of the child pertaining to the application is not Japan.
At the time of the removal or the commencement of the retention of the child pertaining to the application, the State or territory where the child is considered to have been located was not a Contracting State.
[Note] Applications are also dismissed for this reason if the cases involve child removal that took place, or retention that commenced, before April 1,2014 when the Hague Convention took effect in Japan.
It is obvious that the applicant does not have the rights of custody with respect to the child pertaining to the application under the laws and regulations of Japan, or that the relevant rights of custody are not breached by the removal or retention of the child pertaining to the application.

2. Application documents

(1) Documents required for application

The documents required when applying to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Assistance in Child’s Return to Japan are as follows:

Application for Assistance in Child’s Return (PDF)
Supplementary Page for the Second or More Children (PDF)
[Note] This page is needed only when you apply for more than one child.
List of Attached Documents (for Application for Assistance in Child’s Return) (PDF)
Attached Documents
Power of Attorney [Sample Power of Attorney: Japanese (PDF) , English (PDF) ]
[Note] If you wish to communicate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through an attorney, you will need to submit a power of attorney.

(2) Guide to application

Please refer to the following when filling out the application form for Assistance in Child’s Return and preparing the attached documents.

Guide to making an Application for Assistance in Child’s Return (PDF)
[Note] Please be sure to read this Guide before you begin to prepare application documents.
How to fill out the "Application for Assistance in Child's Return" (video) (Japanese only)
[Note] Please watch this video for instructions on how to fill out the application form. (The video is available only in Japanese.)

3. How to Submit Application Documents

Please fill in the necessary items on the application form and submit it with the attached documents to the following address by email or postal mail. Submissions by means other than email or postal mail (e.g., in person, fax) are not accepted. Please note that emails exceeding 10MB cannot be received; if your email exceeds this size, please split the attached documents into multiple emails and send them.

<Email Address>: hagueconventionjapan★mofa.go.jp
[Note] To prevent spam, "@" is displayed as "★". When sending an email, please replace "★" with "@".
<Address>: 〒100-8919
Kasumigaseki 2-2-1, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Hague Convention Division, Consular Affairs Bureau, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

[Note] If time is of the essence, such as when one year is nearing since the removal or retention of a child, it is advisable to consider applying directly to the foreign central authority, not to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Furthermore, depending on the country, it may be possible to directly file a petition for the child’s return with the court in that country, even without applying to the central authority.

The Hague Convention (Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction)