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

　If you want to have visitation or contact (access) [Note] with your children in a foreign state (a Hague Convention Contracting state), you can file an application to the Central Authority of Japan for assistance to realize visitation or contact with your child (Assistance in Visitation or Contact with Child in foreign state).
　Your application, however, is dismissed if one of the following conditions is met. （(Article No.23, Paragraph (1) Implementation Act） Therefore, you are advised to make sure that your case does not fall under any of the following items for dismissal.

　[Note] We use the word "visitation or contact" based on the wording of Japanese domestic legislation in the sense of "access" stipulated in Article 21 of the Hague Convention

• The child pertaining to the application has attained the age of 16.
• The state or territory where the child pertaining to the application is located is unknown.
• It is obvious that the child pertaining to the application is located in Japan or in a state or territory other than Contracting State.
• It is obvious that the location of the child pertaining to the application and the domicile or residence of the applicant are in the same Contracting State.
• It is obvious that the applicant does not have a domicile or residence in Japan.
• The state or territory where the child pertaining to the application held his/her habitual residence immediately before the visitation or other contact with the child by the applicant became unable to be made is not a Contracting State.
• It is obvious that the applicant is not entitled to visitation or other contact with the child pertaining to the application under the laws or regulations of the state or territory where the child pertaining to the application held his/her habitual residence immediately before the visitation or other contact with him/her by the applicant became unable to be made or that the visitation or other contact by the applicant with the child pertaining to the application is not interfered.

　Details of the procedures and assistance in each Contracting State vary from state to state. For further details about the procedures and assistance in each Contracting States, please refer to “Country Profile” of each state available on the Hague Conference on International Private Law homepage (Country Profiles are available in English, French or Spanish. Country profiles of some states are not provided) or enquire at the Central Authority of the relevant state directly.

　Should you wish to submit your application to Japan, you will be required to submit the application documents along with supporting materials to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is the Central Authority of Japan. For the application form and information on how to apply, please refer to this page. The Central Authority of Japan accepts applications in Japanese and English. However, translation into the language accepted by the requested central authority of the state in which the child resides may be necessary, and the translation process will require some time. We therefore recommend applicants to submit application in English from the first instance for purposes of celerity in case the requested Central Authority accepts an application in English.