To whom it may concern at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
. . .
Safe Parents Japan, a group of domestic violence and abuse survivors hereby submit this report. Recently, there were reports on the Australian television program 60 Minutes Australia and the daily newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald that contained significant factual errors about our country that would harm our country’s reputation. . . .
There is no such fact as “child abduction is legal in Japan.” Spreading fake news internationally and calling it “crazy” significantly damages Japan’s reputation. . . .
According to data submitted to the Legislative Council of the Ministry of Justice, the No.1 reason for a parent to leave home with their children is to “protect the children.”. . .
Parental authority is decided based on objective evidence (Medical record, etc.). They assess who has been the main caretaker and who created a secure attachment with the child by evaluating their family life from the point before the child was born to the custodial situation of today. The judgments are made on a case-by-case basis considering various aspects of the family. . .
It is inappropriate to attribute the problem of “82 Australian children” to Japan’s sole parental authority system. For example, the Australian father shown in the program, who seems to be supported by the Australian government, has been arrested in Japan for illegally entering his in-
laws’ home. They are fraudulently blaming Japan’s legal system while the real problem seems to lie in the perpetrator himself. The Australian government should be alerted that they are in fact supporting the perpetrator based on a significant misunderstanding. . ..