Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, left, and Rep. Chris Smith. ( )
"For the sake of the children who are suffering, and for the sake of U.S. and Japanese relations, I seek your public commitment to reunite these families," Smith wrote in the letter. "I respectfully request that you work with the United States to create a process by which families can be reunited and heal."
Smith points out in his letter that the House of Representatives passed H. Res. 1326 in 2010 calling on Japan to "address the urgent problem of abduction to and retention of United States citizen children" and in 2014, the Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act was signed into law to "prevent the terrible crime of international parental child abduction and empower the U.S. executive branch with tools to address this problem bilaterally with countries of particular concern."
AS VIDEO SHOWS A CHILD ESCAPING A KIDNAPPING ATTEMPT, EXPERT REVEALS WHAT PARENTS MUST KNOW
"Regrettably, the abduction of American children to your country remains an ongoing human rights crisis that cannot be sidelined or overlooked," Smith wrote. "When a country such as Japan has failed to resolve 30 percent of abduction cases that have been pending more than 12 months, U.S. law requires the Secretary of State to take action."
Smith wrote that the Goldman Act has helped return U.S. citizen children from other countries but "Japan has not assisted in any notable returns."
"Mr. Prime Minister, there is no doubt that child abduction is a form of child abuse," Smith wrote. "Children who are kidnapped by one parent to live overseas and kept away from another are at grave risk of serious mental trauma, and may experience anxiety, eating disorder, nightmares, mood swings, sleep disturbances, aggressive behavior, resentment, guilt, and fearfulness."
President Biden, left, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida toast during an official State Dinner at the White House in Washington, D.C., April 10, 2024. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "Since the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (the so-called "Hague Convention") entered into force in Japan in 2014, Japan has been taking appropriate measures to deal with cases covered by the Hague Convention through cooperation with each contracting state based on the Convention."
"Regarding cross-border child abduction cases between Japan and the U.S., the relevant authorities in both countries cooperate to appropriately respond to such cases."
The statement continued, "The Government of Japan has explained the position of the Government of Japan, including the above points, to relevant U.S. officials, including Congressman Smith."
Fox News Digital's Matthew Noyes and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-lawmaker-demands-action-japan-pm-key-issue-impacting-hundreds-us-children-abroad