May 7, 2012

Dear Members of Congress,

It has come to our attention that a group of Japanese nationals, representing family members of Japanese

citizens abducted to North Korea, and Japanese government officials are in Washington, D.C. this week to

meet with ranking members of the U.S. Department of State and members of Congress who have

influence over U.S. policy towards North Korea, to seek assistance in locating or gaining information on

six Japanese children kidnapped by North Korea over 30 years ago.  

As parents of hundreds of American children who have been kidnapped to or within Japan, we find this

disturbing. It has been reported in the Japanese press that the families intend to have direct meetings with

Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific Kurt Campbell. Assistant Secretary Campbell is

the U.S. official charged with negotiating the return of our kidnapped children from Japan. Parents of

kidnapped children have, for several years, been frustrated by the unwillingness of the State Department

to publicly ask Japan for the return of our kidnapped children, even following the nuclear disaster of

March 2011. In fact, the State Department admitted in a 2011 email that it has "never asked" the Japanese

government for the return of any American children. Since that email, Assistant Secretary Campbell has

ceased meetings with parents of abducted children, previously held either quarterly or twice each year.

The State Department recently sent an email to parents of kidnapped children to Japan encouraging us

parents to all but acquiesce our cases to Japanese jurisdiction. 

This represents an alarming misalignment of interests on the part of our State Department and

Administration.  For decades, the Government of Japan has been ignoring the issue of its participation in

the kidnapping of American children.  These kidnappings are ongoing and involve hundreds of American

children. This ever-growing epidemic of kidnapped American children to Japan is of far greater

magnitude than the six remaining and unaccounted for Japanese children kidnapped by North Korea over

30 years ago.

While we do not begrudge the Japanese family members their desire for U.S. assistance, we do resent the

audacity of the Japanese Government directly intervening in U.S. politics on behalf of these individuals.

For Japan to ask the U.S. for assistance to hold North Korea accountable for these kidnappings of over 30

years ago, while the Japanese government refuses to address the hundreds of American children

kidnapped to Japan over the past few years is hypocritical and not in the best interest of our American

children or their parents and family members.

The Government of Japan has repeatedly stated, even if it ultimately does sign the Hague Treaty on the

Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, it has no intention of addressing any of the hundreds of

existing cases of kidnapped American children or adhering to the “Spirit or Intent” of the Hague Treaty.

In such circumstances, it would be outrageous to provide political support to Japanese victims of

kidnapping by a third party nation while simultaneously ignoring Japan’s complicity in the kidnapping of

American children.

As noted, we resent that the Department of State is providing foreign nations a level of access and a

forum to gain support that has been far less available to the Parents of Kidnapped American Children. The

State Department officials refuse to provide the same public outcry and discourse regarding the hundreds

of documented cases of kidnapped American children aided and abetted by the Government of Japan.

We respectfully request your support to:

1.  Cease all Congressional support, and discourage all high level government support, of Japan in its

kidnapping issues with North Korea until all cases of kidnapped American children have been

addressed and the children returned to the United States. 

2.  Insist that the Government of Japan provide immediate and visible action on returning all

American children kidnapped to and held in Japan, and denied access to their American parent.

3.  Call on the U.S. Department of State to immediately meet with U.S. parents in a public forum, and

to address our many grievances with Department of State policies and procedures.

4.  Call for a formal investigation of the Department of State’s handling of the international

kidnapping of U.S. children to Japan, which we parents believe has been wholly inadequate and

has resulted in zero children returned by the Japanese government.

Sincerely yours,

The Parents of Kidnapped American Children - Held in the Country of Japan

Paul Toland, National Coordinating Director

Douglass Berg, Eastern Regional Director

Randy Collins, Southwest Regional Director

Jeffery Morehouse, Pacific Northwest Regional Co-Director

Brett Weed, Pacific Northwest Regional Co-Director

Dr. Christopher Savoie, Midwest, Regional Director

Eric Kalmus, The Japan Children’s Rights Network