People ask me, “You’re Japanese, living in Japan. Why write everything in English?”
The answer is simple: Because Japan needs to be heard from the outside.
I want the world to know what life is really like after divorce in this country. Right now, the system for “visitation rights” and seeing your own children is broken. It’s nearly impossible to change it from within.
In Japan, mothers are granted custody in over 90% of divorce cases. The Family Courts still operate on an ancient belief: that children belong only with the mother. No matter how much a father loves his kids or works for them, the system shuts us out.
Here is the cruel reality: Even if the children want to see their father, if the mother lies and says, “The kids don’t want to see you,” the court accepts it. The father is silenced, and the children’s true voices are erased.
Furthermore, the law is completely unbalanced. If a parent fails to pay child support, the legal system can enforce payment. But when a mother refuses to allow visitation, the law remains powerless. Even if you pay every cent of child support, the system cannot force the visitation to happen. The law enforces the money, but it ignores the heart.
I travel 400 miles one way on a cramped, cold overnight bus. I pay for the travel, I pay for the hotels—all out of my own pocket. It’s physically brutal, and my bank account gets smaller every time. But I don’t regret a single cent or a single sleepless night. Why? Because seeing my children’s smiles, even for a moment, is worth more than any amount of money.
I write in English because I want the international community to see this injustice. I want to build a voice that the Japanese system can no longer ignore.
I fight for the truth. I fight for the right to be a father.
