Issue:
January 2023
Lawyers rail at media reporting of international child abduction during emotional press conference
Frenchman Vincent Fichot staged a hunger strike during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic) as part of his long campaign to gain custody – or at least meet – his two children. He was trying to attract the attention of French President Emanuel Macron as well as the world’s media. He may not have met Macron, but he did gain the world’s attention.
Fichot says he has not seen his young son and daughter since his wife allegedly left home with them in 2018. There is no suggestion that his wife has done anything illegal.
He and other “left-behind” parents have spoken at the FCCJ and railed against Japan’s ludicrously termed “justice system.” For them, there is no justice if they can’t see their kids.
In an unusual move, Fichot’s wife held a press conference at the FCCJ on December 14 in response to her husband's claims. Mme. Fichot, as she was described, brought along two lawyers who were helping her in a defamation lawsuit.
“The divorce of Vincent and his wife has been reported with too much heat in the media and on the internet,” one of the lawyers, Hajime Kambara, said. “Madame Fichot was demonized and her husband described as a victim in a tragic state. We have identified the most malicious stories and posts on the internet and have filed a claim for compensation, and for these stories and posts to be deleted.”
The lawsuit targeted two publishers – President Inc. and Asuka Shinsha – and Children’s Rights Watch Japan, an NGO that wants to change the law to allow joint custody in Japan. Kambara said the defendants had made false claims regarding Mme. Fichot, revealed private information, damaged her honor and reputation, and violated her human rights.
Italian journalist Pio D’Emilia made the point that the rights of the children should be paramount in such cases, but throughout the press conference this argument was hardly heard at all.
“Vincent was not interested in visitation rights but was keener on his former wife being turned into a criminal and punished in order that he could get sole rights himself,” lawyer Harumi Okamura said.
“Japan is a country where sole custody is utilized,” Okamura added. “This causes many misunderstandings around the world. We have a stipulation that, if necessary, a court may order visitation rights for parents. It is stipulated but not fully understood by the general public. This case has been maliciously used in Japan to blind the system from the people in Japan. The reality is our system is not understood and people have used this case to say that Japan is a country where abductions are rampant.”
Some journalists were clearly angered by the approach Mme. Fichot’s lawyers were taking, and emotions were running high by the time Mme. Fichot spoke. “The world thinks I abducted my children and I’m a bad mother who took the kids away from the father, but I believe a father should be able to see his kids. International marriages are different, but I think if you were in my position, you might feel the same way as me.”
She then addressed allegations that she had abducted her children. “Some say that it’s abduction, but there are various opinions on this."
Fred Varcoe is a British freelance journalist. He was formerly sports editor of The Japan Times and Metropolis magazine, and has written on sports, music, cars and other topics for The Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail, Billboard, Automobile Year, UPI, Reuters, the Japan Football Association, the International Volleyball Association and various websites.
