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CNN & the privacy of children

CNN’s latest emotional news report about the arrest of Christopher Savoie takes an odd approach to protecting the privacy of children:

As you can see from the screen capture at the top of this blog post, they have chosen to blur out the faces of the biological children of Amy Savoie, Christopher’s mistress-turned-wife. The faces of the two children who were “abducted” remain visible. It could have been done to help viewers focus on the faces of Christopher’s kids, or it could be a means of protecting the privacy of children not directly related to this child custody dispute.
cnn america

If this case makes the Japanese TV news, it is likely that viewers would not have a chance to see the faces of the Savoie children. The Japanese media follows very strict rules regarding the privacy of minors, making sure that the general public does not know the names and faces of children involved in legal disputes or criminal cases.

Some of you out there probably think that a father should be able to show photos of his children when calling for the public to help him retrieve them from a foreign country. Others, such as commenter q-chan, would prefer that the identities of the children be protected:

I don’t care about the parent but feel sorry for the children. Regardless of which is wrong, it is the sad story for them. The greatest tragedy of them might be that their privacy was exposed to all over the world. Please imagine that complete strangers know every thing about your privacy regarding your parent’s disputes and whisper about it with poor you looks. Is it happy for you?

Do you think that CNN should have shown the faces of the Savoie children?

Side note: Am I the only one who finds the graphics created by the CNN to be utterly ridiculous? They’ve friggin’ turned Savoie’s ex-wife into a red-faced rising sun!

—

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129 comments - What do you think? Posted by James - October 3, 2009 at 2:51 pm

Categories: General Japan Tags: Christopher Savoie

Mr. USA

CNN just loves this story. Why is it that Americans always like to rally behind a big asshole?

CNN is obviously just going for emotion by using the Imperial flag of Japan in its graphics. Would they have used a swastika if the mother was German?

HamachiMan

TOTALLY agree with your sentiments. CNN? Out of all the such related cases in the U.S., let alone the world, they choose this one? Give me a break.

It is SO irresistible for the media to run away with this one. Any little tidbit of news to make Japan/Japanese look bad is something the media will jump all over.

Ridiculous.

pixel_bomber

I don’t agree, Japan is not heavily covered in the US media compared to other issues. I think this story could be set in any far away non English speaking country with different laws and they would report it similarly.

I think it’s just a coincidence that this is set in Japan. Most American think we have great relations with Japan or simply don’t care.

pixel_bomber

I don’t think most Americans consider the imperial flag similar to the swastika. In fact I’d be willing to bet if you showed an American the Imperial flag and asked them if it was the flag of Japan they would say yes. Not trying to go on an “Americans are dumb” rant but I just don’t think they care enough to know the difference.

leitmotiv

I agree. Any typical american tourist who might visit Japan has a high probability of seeing the imperial flag flying proudly in Shibuya or Roppongi etc.

http://www.japanprobe.com James

CNN is obviously just going for emotion by using the Imperial flag of Japan in its graphics.

Any typical american tourist who might visit Japan has a high probability of seeing the imperial flag flying proudly in Shibuya or Roppongi etc.

If you consider the Rising Sun Flag to be an “imperial flag,” then you’ll also find imperial flags being flown on Japanese MSDF ships and SDF bases. The Japanese government considers it no more imperial than the regular national flag.
leitmotiv

Fair point. It could be described in a number of ways, perhaps most accurately as SDF flag. In the prior silly comments of outrage about alleged anti-japan bias around CNN use of the flag image (because its equivalent it to use of nazi germany flag), the outraged poster describes it as “imperial”.
Mr. USA

I should have specified. When I said “Imperial flag” I meant the flag that is commonly associated with Imperial Japan. I wasn’t implying that it is the flag of the Imperial family.
Ajapa

To state a sarcastic stereotypical view toward American honestly…

But compare 2nd and 3rd photos! CNN want to treat this incident as a “U.S. vs. Japan” matter. The elderly may think greedy Noriko Savoie made a sneak attack and started the abduction war first. Perhaps CNN is raring to shout “Remember XXX!” in resentment and then is hoping to drop something on somewhere finally… No good news to prove American justice from Afghanistan, Iraq, or somewhere else?

No intention to start a flamewar, but an anti-American Japanese person may take it as the above. I hope CNN chage their attitude a little, they should understand their news may go around the world just as-is.
The Overthinker

It definitely has very strong connotations of “Imperial Japan” however. CNN are definitely aware of that.
k

dude why does everyone hate one that version of the flag? they still use it in the Maritime self-defense force. so what are you guys talking about? it has nothing to do with WWII crap anymore.

I dont get why this not showing the kids thing is such a big deal too. She probably just doesnt want her kids to be noticed at school or seen on the streets.
Ajapa

I dont get why this not showing the kids thing is such a big deal too. She probably just doesnt want her kids to be noticed at school or seen on the streets.

If you assume that both Noriko and Christopher had agreed on showing their children’s face, there may be no problem. Does CNN just think that these abducted kids will spend their time mostly in Japan as Noriko’s children and excuse their usage of photos as “CNN is just an U.S. cable news network”?
The Overthinker

“so what are you guys talking about?”

I am talking about common US perceptions of the flag, not what it is actually used for.
k

you guys spend way too much of your time ripping on Americans.
The Overthinker

Who and where?

And why can’t I make short pithy comments in WordPress?

Shelly

I don’t think most Americans have any emotional reaction to the imperial flag of Japan. It’s merely a symbol to point out the nation involved.

And I don’t think that any Americans knowing the real story would rally behind this man. CNN is doing a poor job of presenting facts so the story favors the father, and people watching are responding to what they’re told. But those of us who hear both sides to the story and see what a manipulative dick the father is, can only hope that the mother gets custody of the children and they get to stay in Japan where they were raised.

pixel_bomber

I think you are correct. Regardless of which flag is shown it simply represents Japan to most Americans. Outside of Japan most people don’t know the difference. But yea maybe the graphics dept at CNN sucks for not using the correct flag.

I think CNN decided early on who’s side of the story they wanted to present. Regardless of what new things come up they seem willing to stick to it.

To be fair though we have heard next to nothing from the mothers side so I guess they don’t really have an angle to pursue from her perspective. So if they want to keep this story rolling they have to rely on constant info from the fathers side of it. And lets face it “news” is produced to make money, any useful info we get out of it is purely a coincidence.

john

Hmm, not where I’m from. Believe it or not emotions in the southern U.S. (or at least my area of it) are still very high against Japan among many, and not just those who were in the War or their children. I mean even younger people.

The fact that readers here associated the naval flag as representative of mid-20th century Japanese aggression just illustrates the point that many others do as well. Particularly those outside Japan–and no doubt at CNN.

CNN used to be better–or maybe I was just much younger and naive when I watched it.

fg

“Japan must change their ways”…..君たちもよく考えたほうがいいよ。
jikku

CNN is truly disgusting. I thought Japan should sign the Hague Convention but maybe not yet. I hope the Japanese media picks up on this story and let everyone know what cheating scum he really is.

If he loved and cared about his children so much, he shouldn’t have cheated on his wife in the first place. He started this whole mess.

k

dude, do u have any idea how many japanese business men go to fuzoku’s and cheat on their wives. cheating scum. hah. give me a break.

longus dickus

but a blowjob is not a sex!
jikku

ANYONE (Japanese or non-Japanese) who would cheat on his/her spouse is just scum in my book.

k

your book must be huge

Ajapa

The Japanese business men are all superman. Working 15 hours for his salary, 4 hours spent in commuting, only 1 hour available for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in total, 2 hour spent for drinking with his colleagues, 1 hour reserved for cheating on his wife, and just remaining 1 hour for sleep and others, everyday. Everyone already know it so you don’t need to talk about it.

pixel_bomber

Honestly we only know the details that the media gives, and it seems like half of those are incorrect. We don’t know how long there marriage was over before they finally divorced. We don’t know what the cause of the divorce was. All we know is we have two parents who have a really pathetic way of showing they care about their kids.

Also in relation to the topic of this post, are we sure that CNN blurred these photos or was this done at the request of the childrens mother?

arerae

america is a frightening country.
many Americans have a deep and strong prejudice towards japanese.
and eager in self-righteous condemnation.
peoples are all smashed together and rotting.

we japanese so tired of american smug attitude.
it feels like the time is right to just step back.

Ajapa

I Japanese am so tired of “We Japanese…” sentences repeated by some of us Japanese, and many of us Japanese are so tired of that too. How should we Japanese tackle our Japanese problem of starting a sentence by “We Japanese”?
Mr. USA

What a troll. No Japanese with bad English knows the word “condemnation” and spells it correctly, nor would they know to hyphenate “self-righteous.” Each sentence ends correctly with a period but starts with a lower case. Nice try.

pixel_bomber

Why do you assume that a Japanese cannot type perfect English? For all you know arerae could be a naturalized Japanese citizen who grew up in the USA.

But yea does sound a bit like a troll.
Lazing Class Hero

Spelling correcter Mr Sherlock Holmes, spelling correcter.

k

“many Americans have a deep and strong prejudice towards japanese.” ….where are you getting this information? If you’re talking about prejudice towards people in the states, go wait in line, Japan is at the bottom of the list if you ask me.
infact, lets make a list. (1 being the most discriminated against, 5 being the least)

1. Middle Eastern People
2. Black people
3. Latinos
4. French people lol (remember freedom fries?)
5. Asians

white people arent on the list, because we cant be discriminated against, because if we are and we complain about it, everyone just calls us racist anyway.

Conclusion:American’s dont hate Japanese. We respect them for being the second largest porn consuming country that they are..of course America’s number ONE.

Stereo

If someone makes such sweeping statements like “Japanese courts are not fair to foreigners” or “Japanese judicial system is totally corrupt”, most of the Americans believe so, unless otherwise proven. There must be something wrong with Japan, right?

This is what prejudice is. Japan is seen unfavorably without presenting evidence.

k

lol, i wouldnt really say thats prejudice towards japanese people in general like the guy was saying. plus the judicial system was pretty whacked, i mean if it was good, then why did they change their court system? i mean just to see how whacked it is, check out their conviction rate. oh yea last time i checked, if you’re a foreign in jail in japan, and you wanna talk to someone when they come in to see you, you cant speak to them in any other language than Japanese…i’d say thats alittle unfair. but hey if you’re in there you probably did something stupid, so i say deal with it.

Jim

Sure, plenty of Japanese men cheat as do westerners but I guess this guy fell in love with this ‘other’ woman and ended his marriage to start a new life, while his previous wife is forced to watch this and to pretend like its all cleared up because he threw some money at her. Cant blame her for wanting to get home to her family and friends, and to take the children whom she obviously also loves deeply, with her.

She is painted as being conniving and cooly calculating but with her kids trapped in the US legal system what choice did she have?

leitmotiv

She is painted as being conniving and cooly calculating but with her kids trapped in the US legal system what choice did she have?

She could have initiated divorce in Japan, but if so would not have received nearly so much cash. She was not trapped by the US legal system (as you say), she actually became singificantly wealthier because of US legal system. I think the word “calculating” is correct.

Mr. USA

“She could have initiated divorce in Japan”

She tried to, but her husband wouldn’t agree to it.

leitmotiv

That would not stop her. You think you need both parties to agree to divorce before it can be initiated? Japan is not saudi arabia or something. There are extra steps, but one can initiate a contested divorce in Japan.
Stereo

leitmotiv, you really seem to have no knowledge of Japanese family laws.

Civil code
Article 770　Only in the cases stated in the following items may either husband or wife file a suit for divorce:
(i)　if a spouse has committed an act of unchastity;
(ii)　if abandoned by a spouse in bad faith;
(iii)　if it is not clear whether a spouse is dead or alive for not less than three years;
(iv)　if a spouse is suffering from severe mental illness and there is no prospect of recovery; or
(v)　if there is any other grave cause making it difficult to continue the marriage.
(2)　A court may dismiss a suit for divorce if it finds continuing the marriage reasonable taking into account all circumstances, even in the case where there is a cause listed in items (i) to (iv) inclusive of the preceding paragraph.

In Noriko’s case, she has to prove his “act of unchastity” to file divorce, but how?
Even if she could, cheating once or twice may well be dismissed by the court. People here are supposed to make every effort to continue marriage.
Mr. USA

Thanks for presenting the facts Stereo.
leitmotiv

@Stereo

Regardless of whether you personally feel she could collect evidence to file under “act (i)” (of course she could), act (i), act (ii), and act (v), as written above, all provide more than enough grounds to begin contested divorce — that is if you believe any of the pro-Noriko conjecture and fact-free assumptions on these comments (which is apparent). Its funny to see the backbending and ignoring of inconvenient facts on display in support of Noriko.

RMilner

But it was the husband who initiated divorce, in the USA. He too could have done it in Japan and saved on alimony but his chance of getting custody would have been much lower.

It is fairly obvious from the timeline of events that the husband had already decided to ditch his first wife and marry the girlfriend when he persuaded the first wife to move to the USA. He set up the situation in Tennessee because he thought he would get a better chance of custody of the children.

Under the US and Tennessee law, the ex-wife’s visa would expire and not be renewed because it was a spouse visa. She would then be separated by deportation from her children whose passports were supposed to have been surrendered to the court. She would at great expense have to come to the USA and argue her case for custody under the Hague Convention, which may have cost a lot of her alimony and might have failed.

Instead she made a coup to take the children to Japan. The ex-husband attempted to use main force to take them back to the USA, but his plan failed.

Neither of them exactly played a straight bat, however I think the ex-wife is more sinned against than sinning.

Anyway, the children’s well-being should be the principle concern in all divorce cases, not the welfare or punishment of the parents.

Ajapa

I found a report from the U.S. by Akihiko Reizei, making mention of problems caused by divorce of American-Japanese couples. Here is some excerpt from his article, originaly written in Japanese:

However, in the case of Japan, who is not a signatory of the Hague Convention, a difficult and delicate problem arises, as follows:

1. For a Japanese parent who had gained custody in the divorce suit, it is difficult to bring children back to Japan and live together there. (In the U.S., some of lawyers recognize that visitation rights are not always guaranteed if children were brought to Japan after the divorce because Japan is not a signatory of the treaty, hence there are such cases that an American parent, who is influenced by lawyers, do not agree on children’s travel to Japan. In this case, such claim is accepted by the court, and there is a possibility that while the custody is held by a Japanese parent, a compulsory decree which requires to reside in the U.S. or in other signatory country of the Hague convention is issued)

2. The cases that a Japanese parent, who can not endure abuse anymore or has a problem in the language ability, goes back to Japan along with children without any conscent of the court, are under an accusation of “Child Abduction” by American parents left alone. (It became a very serious diplomatic problem mainly with the U.S. and Canada. There is a report that, in total, about 40 cases are in very serious dispute in both countries)

Then, it might be fine if Japan sign and ratify the Hague Convention, but there is a problem in the case of Japan. Firstly, there is inconsistency between the Japanese laws concerning the divorce and the Hague Convention. There are two problems; first, there is no framework (or legislation) of “joint custody” in Japan; then after the divorce, children must belong to, or be reared by, the family of either of their parents, and there are no framework for allowing children to go back and forth from mother’s house to father’s house. Secondly, the visitation rights became approved in Japan too, but there is no legal force.

Therefore, with the Japanese laws, it is not only unable to protect American parents’ rights under the Hague Convention, but also unable to protect Japanese parents’ rights. It is not only a matter of the civil law, but also, the social custom is a bottleneck. When it is viewed from the American’s viewpoint, the custom of past days “It is supposed to be natural that children never meet the one of their parent without custody”, or gender biased opinion like “It is preferable that children spend their time with mother as much as possible”, and such, are considered as a huge barrier in Japan.
—–

Note: The author is a novelist or a writer, but not a lawyer, judge, jurist, nor a specialist of the law.
Ajapa

I will enumerate some points from my previous excerpt by myself. The author of the above report, Akihiko Reizei, seems to be a non-fiction writer.

1. In the U.S., some lawyers are fully aware of that many Asian countries are not a signatory of the Hague Convention and they are very sure that there exist difficulties in bringing once abducted children back from these Asian countries.

2. They, some lawyers in the U.S., are sure that the fact that many Asian countries are not a signatory of the treaty can be a strong basis for confining Asian parents and their children into the U.S. and other signatories.

3. Some Asian parents may find it hard to live there even when they got the custody and enough alimony to rear their children since they may be lonely, isolated, not condident of adapting themselves to the (unfamiliar) environment as a single, and for vaious other reason. They may seek a chance to go back to their home country along with their children, legally or not.

If you want to get divorced with your Asian spouse, you’d better go back to your home country if she is a signatory of the Hague Convention and then start your divorce suit there with help of clever lawyers. Don’t forget to keep watch on your ex-spouse after the suit.

SWater

>She could have initiated divorce in Japan, but if
>so would not have received nearly so much cash.

At least she tried but her ex-husband refused, according to the AP article shown below. She would probably have received more, as several people explained in another thread, if they had got divorced in Japan before Mr. Savoie left Japan.

“Crafton, a native of Japan who befriended Noriko Savoie during her short time in Tennessee, said her friend tried to get a divorce while the couple still lived in Japan, but her husband had refused and later persuaded her to move to the U.S. with the children.”
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i1wNIMvNzJOj4tJ3S-nfVaZ6lCGAD9B2JQA80

leitmotiv

You can file for divorce in Japan, even if its contested.
Jim

He obviously convinced her to give it another go.
The main point is that he was the one that then filed for divorce in the US and appears not to have been her that wanted it that way.

He probably thought that he had a better chance of gaining custody or at least of ensuring she would be trapped in the US with his children.
Nice try Chris!
leitmotiv

He obviously convinced her to give it another go.

Give what another go? The marriage? There is absolutely nothing to make such an assertion “obvious”.

He probably thought that he had a better chance of gaining custody or at least of ensuring she would be trapped in the US with his children.

Probably….until she defied a judge and abducted. He could not be 100% sure, or course, but now its happened. Now shes international fugitive, unable to leave Japan. In practical terms, the kids are also unable to leave Japan.
Jim

He tried to keep her trapped in the US and unable to take her children back to Japan, and lets be honest, it was the best option he had… In japan he would not have had a chance. In the US he had one and very much likely able to keep her in the US or at least to have her restricted from taking her children back to Japan.
Anyways, he tried and he lost… Get over it.
Mr. USA

“He obviously convinced her to give it another go.”

You’re correct. Somebody previously posted court documents that said the reason she came to America was because he wanted to try to fix the marriage for the kids’ sake. When she arrive, she got the divorce papers, and was forced to stay in America.

Christopher successfully tricked her and Noriko just one-upped him. Now the asshole is in jail and he deserves it.
Not a Priest

Can you indicate where the documents show that? Your claim is completely at odds with what the court said on Page 122 of the court transcripts:

“And she clearly understood that when she was coming to the United States, she wasn’t coming here to reconcile. And it was clear she came here knowing that her husband was involved with another woman, and she came here knowing that he wanted a divorce…There was never any doubt in anybody’s mind about the facts and circumstances under which Ms Savoie came to the United States and her husband’s intent to divorce her.”

It’s possible that Christopher Savoie carries the blame for the breakdown of his marriage – no-one can safely say for certain – but nothing in the evidence supports the claim that her husband tricked her or made false promises to get her over to America.
SWater

What I still don’t know is whether Noriko came to the U.S. to discuss the conditions of their divorce with Christopher Savoie or to go to the Tennessee court directly to finalize their divorce.

Under the usual circumstances, it is more reasonable to interpret it as the latter. However, given the fact that both of them are Japanese citizens, she might have expected to discuss the divorce before filing it in Japan.
ponta

It might be that she wanted to divorce, but at the same time it may be that she wanted to start over the marriage.

page page 79

“It’s just heat breaking. The memory of our marriage we have been married for 14 years and we knew each other for 18 years we had very good times most of the times for most of the years. And all of sudden I am”

page 122
“Now that does not mean she was emotionally accepting of that.

In terms of Dr Savoie his emotional attachment ended long time ago, in terms of Ms Savoie I am not sure her’s ended even as she sit here today”

Under this circumstance, it is likely that he persuaded her to come to the U.S. to talk over the marriage.
Not a Priest

No, that’s not possible.

From her testimony, the court specifically concluded “she clearly understood that when she was coming to the United States, she wasn’t coming here to reconcile” [see same quotation above]

The court recognized that “emotionally” she may have wanted things differently but her husband did not misrepresent his intentions.
ponta

“The court recognized that “emotionally” ”
That is the point.

” her husband did not misrepresent his intentions.”
We don’t know that yet, do we?
Stereo

The judge said the risk of her returning to Japan is small because she knew she would get divorced when she came to the US and she knew that meant her children must live in the US.

Well, she could have said “No, sir. That was not what I thought when I came to the US.” but by saying so, she would have lost the chance to get the permission to temporarily return to Japan, or even the primary custody altogether.

What would you say if you were in her situation?
leitmotiv

Well, she could have said “No, sir. That was not what I thought when I came to the US.” but by saying so, she would have lost the chance to get the permission to temporarily return to Japan, or even the primary custody altogether.

What would you say if you were in her situation?

Ah…I see. So the evil US judicial system FORCED her to lie. It wasnt her fault.

*eyeroll*

Amazing how the dogmatic presumption of Noriko being incapable of any wrongdoing and being the wronged Japanese angel forces some flimsy rationalizations from Japan enthusiasts.
nigelboy

“I rented the house** to Christopher and Nokiro**,” he said. “**She wanted the marriage to work, but he left.** She was in the house for a year and two months. The best tenant I ever had. When the police called me for a wellness check, they told me to either open the door for them or they would knock it open.”

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20091001/NEWS03/910010361/

“Crafton, a native of Japan who befriended Noriko Savoie during her short time in Tennessee, said her friend tried to get a divorce while the couple still lived in Japan, but **her husband had refused and later persuaded her to move to the U.S. with the children.”**

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i1wNIMvNzJOj4tJ3S-nfVaZ6lCGAD9B2JQA80

In addition, according to court docs, Noriko was in TN under permanent residency. In order for that to happen, it’s Christopher that has to petition Noriko(I-130)under CR1 (spousal) in order for the residency to be approved.

So yeah. I tend to believe that Noriko brought her kids to Tennesse in hopes to patch thing up.

HOwever, it turns out that Christopher petition for the SPOUSAL visa so Noriko could come to TN so that he could serve her the DIVORCE paper a day after they arrive.

So yea again, I can see why she was upset.

Vox24

Interesting photo, that.

I think in this case, CNN is trying to draw attention away from the fact that he’s sitting there with three kids from his new marriage (front and center, with his biological kids off to the side).

I find it a little surprising that no one could find a picture of him and his kids – without the new additions. The new wife is probably behind that one. I expect we’ll hear more from her soon.

I find myself wanting to buy her ex-husband a beer, for some reason…

Mr. USA

“I find myself wanting to buy her ex-husband a beer, for some reason…”

Why?

Vox24

A congratulatory beer, I suppose. Seems to me like he avoided one hell of a trainwreck in all this.

Think about it: Wife leaves him for her highschool sweetheart… who goes to Japan and gets arrested for kidnapping, and has his dirty laundry aired for all the world to see. He’ll probably get his kids back, if the new hubby winds up doing time in Japan.

That’s karma, that is.

micky

I feel the same way about those “new family pictures.”

All of them were taken recently by Amy obviously when kids visited dad’s NEW AMERICAN HOUSE with AMERICAN WIFE and 3 more AMERICAN KIDS, to give an impression that those AMERICAN (actually with Japanese passports, who do not speak much English) got abducted by a Japanese wife.

Amy’s father should feel so much better that he does not have to claim that she belongs to him. But, may be feeling depressed when he thinks about the influence of this mess onto his own 3 kids.

SWater

Why don’t Noriko hire a competent bilingual spokesperson and an attorney and expose everything?

Amy Savoie and her attorney (is he the guy who represented Christopher at the divorce court?) fully utilize American news media to accuse her of “abducting” his children, urge general public to demonstrate in front of the Japanese embassy, and push the state department to make it a diplomatic affair.

Jim

Why waste the money?
Why does she need to care about this, it will not change her legal situation and will just end up bleeding her financially.

SWater

First, I suspect at least some foreign reporters are trying to contact her at her home, and I think it is risky for her to answer questions by herself without seeking a professional help. Also, I think it is not a good idea to keep hiding at home for many days and she doesn’t have to.

Second, with the help of American news media, Christopher and Amy Savoies are trying to destroy her identity. Probably she has already done, it won’t make things worse if she ask for a professional opinion to protect herself and her family.

Third, if she indeed received $800,000 in cash and brought it to Japan, she will be financially stable for a while. She shouldn’t hesitate to use that money to clean up this mess and protect herself. That’s what I thought.

However, if you are a lawyer and absolutely sure that nothing will change by hiring an attorney, then, I have to say she should use that money for something else, security service, psychiatrists, job training, etc.

http://aki-akiaki.blogspot.com/ Aki

It would hurt her children.
Hajime

Japanese are pretty ignorant of need to play media game. She probably think that if she keep quiet, things will go away. She got kids at her side and it is unlikely that Japanese authority will take her kids away. She probably won’t care if she is painted as a demon in u.s.

Plus, if the publicity pick up in Japan, then Japanese media will pick up on the fact that it was CS who wrecked the marriage and lured her and children into U.S., subsequently locking them in in U.S.

This is a text book case of why Japan or other Asian countries will not (or should not) sign up.

There is some confusion about the Hague. Even if Japan was signatory, the wife would have lost children if she wanted to go back and live in Japan. The Hague make no provision as to what the custody arrangement. If the family court with jurisdiction screw you, which disproportionately apply to foreigner, the Hague convention has effect to re-enforce it.

RMilner

As I understand things, ex-Mrs Savoie is a Japanese citizen, so are her children. Mr Savoie and his new wife are also Japanese citizens. The alleged crime of the father took place in Japan.

The Hague Convention recognises that children should be placed in the situation which is most familiar to them, which would clearly be Japan since they lived there most of their lives.

Just because ex-Mrs Savoie failed to surrender the children’s passports to the court, does not in itself entitle the father to take custody automatically.

I’m finding it hard to see why US State Department should involve itself.

micky

His new wife, AMY is not Japanese.
But, Mr. Savoie is Japanese citizen, and he is still married leagally with Noriko.

So, he has two wives legally. One in Tennesse-Amy, and one in Japan – Noriko.

Mr. Savoie never agreed to get a divorce in Japan.

So, the case in his abducting kids are going to be treated as “things between separated married couple” and he tried to remove children from mother – the main care givers for past years. He had 3 more guys to help him in the same car to snatch kids away from mother’s arms. Then, dashing to US consulate is an ovbious attempt of taking them overseas.

His going to the consulate was not for protecting themas US citizen. He needed US passports for kids to fly. I believe that he needed US passport, as he was not supposed to possess US passport when he entered Japan- anyone requests Japanese citizenship should have agreed to give up another citizenship to obtain Japanese citizenship – Japan does not allow dual citizenship. So he cheated there, too.

US media never tells about it. Funny…

http://www.binary-apotheosis.com/blogs/index.php Rob A

I refuse to get sucked in by the drama drama drama. Report some *ACTUAL* news, please, CNN.
Luke

It’s funny how in the beginning, I took the side of the Father, from how CNN was presenting this story.
But after reading up on the facts that CNN AREN’T presenting, I definitely side with the mother.
Such biased American BS.

Tom

You win. I agree.

It’s the whole “They’re here at HOME in America, the best country ever for a better life! And then that japanese lady STOLE the children and took them back to some foreign land” that gets me. They’re japanese, she took them back to where they should have been anyways.

Stereo

This kind of kidnapping is eligible for indictment only after formal complaint is filed by the victim per article 229 of penal code. The question is whether these kids, acting through their mother, would file formal complaint to make a criminal of their father. I think some negotiation is going on between the lawyers of Noriko and Christopher.
Roofy

America has lost its plot.

The poor economy has done serious damage, and is making the US look for any scapegoats to blame.

aCeface

Dude.If we actually look for some scapegoats,we look for China.Not the U,S.
We actually think the U.S deserves some foreign aids from Tokyo.

aCeface

My bad.Too much beer.I totally misread the comment.
I apologize.

John

At the risk of stereotyping…

The husband looks and acts like a redneck. Rednecks don’t like it when women aren’t compliant. They like it even less when women outsmart them. A redneck outsmarted by a woman is likely to use force to resolve the issue, and to be self-righteous about doing so.

Tank

Ooooooh he’s a Redneck! I didn’t know that.

I’ll be on the look out.

Thanks

Mike Guest

I’m not going to pretend that I know much about law but I’m surprised that no one has focused upon the original U.S. court injunction.

Doesn’t it strike anyone else as a bit wierd that a local judge in rural U.S. can tell a Japanese woman, who has a Japanese husband, she is not allowed to take her Japanese-passport holding kids back to Japan, the country in which they have spent almost all of their lives? And this on top of the fact that the Japanese citizen husband divorced her soon after returning to his original homeland to pursuse another relationship in the U.S?

If this is the kind of thing that the Hague Convention is expected to uphold, that a local U.S. court’s judgment on a domestic matter suddenly has international legal priority, then I can see why some would question signing it.

To me, the initial legal decision in the U.S. seems to be the more ‘archaic law’. You can bet your life that if a Japanese judge had put a travel injinction on an American woman who had American-raised and U.S. passport-holding kids, who had been brought to Japan by her naturalized American (but ethnically Japanese) husband and almost immediately dumped by him for an old Japanese high school sweetheart, that the type of peson supporting C. Savoie (found more at Debito’s site than here)would be calling for that Japanese’s judge head, calling it a travesty of justice, typical of Japan’s backwards legal system, 20 years behind the U.S., not really a developed country, not a legitimate member of the international community and so on.

Ajapa

There are much debate in several entries posted before. I don’t know what happned in their divorce suite actually. But I think that I can offer some information:

1. The Hague Convention is an international treaty to tackle the problem of international parental child abduction and other problems. It offers a legal way to bring abducted children back to an appropriate person, usually one of parents holding custody and mainly rearing children in their habitual residence.

2. Japan is not a signatory of this treaty. Hence, there are no established procedures to take children back in the case that children are abducted and brought to Japan by ex-spouse.

Suppose that you are a lawyer, and then take these two facts into account. You can appeal to the judge that there are higher risk that your client, a husband in the divorce suit, loses his children, or at least, the visitation rights may become in danger if his ex-wife have abducted her children and brought them to Japan. His hope to take his children back might be despairing if his ex-wife denies any contact with him and hides herself and her children from him.

The injunction of travel in any country which is not a signatory of the Hague Convention might have been requested by Christopher’s lawyer and then the court was persuaded with enough validity. Their law is not “archaic” but there might be too much distrust toward Noriko who must have fought the divorce suit under great disadvantages. Anyway, I think, it is not the U.S. law nor the court to be blamed. One may think that the situation is just too complicated.

Gigi

Off topic a bit: I just wanted to say how surprised I was in reading this story by the apparent misperceptions that Japanese citizens have about Americans’ feelings towards Japan. WWII is mentioned on this site so much as a motivating factor for Americans, but to the vast majority of people it’s just history. In fact, I would say that after the UK, Japan would be the country Americans like or respect the most. Americans admire hard work, achievement, and a democratic society run by law. Japan is all of those things. Believe it or not, there it is.

pixel_bomber

I totally agree. I am fairly certain that most Americans either have a positive opinion of Japan or no opinion at all. I’m not sure where some people get the idea that America hates Japan. Japan has been one of the USA’s closest allies for my entire life and I almost never heard anything negative about Japan. I always get the impression these comments are coming from people who do not have direct knowledge of the US. There are racists in every country (including Japan) but that is certainly a minority.

Also in relation to this story specifically, it is getting far less coverage in the US than it does here on Japan Probe. Yea it appeared on CNN but it’s not exactly a top story. Very few people are aware of it at all unless they are actively looking for news on Japan (most Americans are not).
Klaatu

Gigi.

You can’t be any more wrong.

What do you do every year on December 7? That’s right – we celebrate Pearl Harbor “Attacked” Day. Yet we don’t EVER talk about the days when we dropped the 2 Nukes. NEVER. In fact, hardly anybody knows what month or day we did that.

You look across the entire U.S. population, and find that the Japanese population, and Japanese descendants included, have DECREASED since the 1980s.

All we do is BUY and USE the things that Japan makes for us, but we do NOT respect them nor its culture, and definitely not its people. We HATE its people, actually. We’re happy now that we have been introduced to Sushi and found it to be safe to eat – the number of Sushi restaurants have increased astronomically since the 80s but we also find that half of those are Korean Sushi restaurants pretending to be Japanese ones.
Also sites such as this one here and DEBITO are proofs.

We always talk about INDIGENOUS cultures and protecting them – but only when it pertains to smaller cultures that America did not actually conquer as one of its own. We won’t ever let go of Hawaii. We won’t let go of Samoa.

America has such a skewed view about Japan, due to the fact that we IGNORE it in the mainstream, we are BLOCKED from it by the government controlled media. The only times we ever hear about Japan is when Japan or its people do something stupid or bad, we never hear about its pioneering achievements in science, technology, medicine and the arts – we even CENSOR their games to suit our own, we even voice-over their movies and show it with American accents so as to not frighten people when they have to hear the evil Japanese language.

And Japan is not the only one we treat this way. We do it to the French, the Italians, and the Germans – we take all their good THINGS, but not the reasons behind why they are good – the people, language and their culture.

John

Paranoid delusions.

Most Americans don’t think about Japan at all. It’s not as salient as it was even twenty years ago. Japan long ago stopped being an exporter of common consumer goods to America. Except for Japanese label cars (made in such exotic places as Kentucky), most Americans rarely see even nominally Japanese items.

America is far more relevant to Japan than Japan is to America. That may be unsettling to some, but it’s a fact.

gamiras

I think that the vast majority of Americans don’t have any interest in or know about Japan.

Here’s a possible scenario. A custody battle can be a jury trial depending on a state. The jury doesn’t know anything about Japan or international treaties. All they need is what a lawyer tells them: “Japan is a horrible country.”
Ajapa

Are you talking about some of Japanese citizens’ perceptions regarding Americans’ feelings towards Japan? Did you find any evidence that the most of Japanese citizens has apparent misperceptions about Americans’ feelings towards Japan here?

It is true that some Japanese suspect that American quality papers (and their readers) may have hostility and contempt against Japan and they often depict Japan as a backward country and pathetic society with severe illness, oten emphasizing their strangeness and aspects entirely alien from the West. But they have usually no opinion on individual American citizens and are not arguing general Americans’ feelings towards Japan.

There may be misperceptions about Americans’ feelings towards Japan. But I haven’t heard any story of Japanese being suddenly accused of the Pearl Harbor attack by Americans. Rather, it seems that most Americans tend to avoid mentioning on WWII isuue, at least, in a face-to-face talk with Japanese. Although I sometimes see comments like “Let’s nuke ‘em again” and “They’re a mutant born after our nukings” on the internet, but I doubt they are actually Americans.
John

Sorry, my experiences say otherwise.

Most Americans don’t think about Japan at all. Those that do usually regard it with suspicion.

Barbara

I just heard about the Japanese flag..
I am shocked and my feelings is very hurt.
I am part Japanese and I can not believe they used a flag of WWII
The Japanese flag is the hinomaru.. White flag in the center the red circle which represent the flag.

guess time to contact CNN
gamiras

Just in case there is still anyone who hesitates to call him names, here is some data on one of the companies he set up in Japan.
(Japanese text)
http://finance.firstlife.jp/edinet/c/5342/
http://finance.firstlife.jp/edinet/doctext/S0000BV4/
http://money.www.infoseek.co.jp/MnStock/2160.t/cfiscal/

To put it blatantly, it’s a fraudulent company. He might face other charges. Who knows what else he did in Japan.

Mr. USA

He’s a scumbag.

Stereo

If he deceived her when she came to the US in June 2008, he may face another criminal charge.

Penal Code
Article 226.　A person who kidnaps another by force or enticement for the purpose of transporting another from one country to another country shall be punished by imprisonment with work for a definite term of not less than 2 years.

If he lied to her that he was planning a new life with her in the US, that is enticement. If the police find one such e-mail, he will serve a maximum of 20 years in prison.

The Japanese government may want to give Americans in Japan a lesson out of this case. Do not use the US as a dumping site of Japanese spouse. If you try to bring your Japanese spouse out of Japan for divorce, that is a crime.

Mr. USA

Even though Japan is on the right side of the law, I don’t think there’s any way they could convict Christopher Savoie of a crime. The pressure from America would be too much for them.

Stereo

I do not think they will drop the charges of kidnapping children by force, unless Noriko agrees or Christopher expresses remorse. They think they are sending a big wrong message if they ever drop the charges against him.

jikku

CNN is now reporting Noriko has dual citizenship of the US and Japan.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/10/03/japan.custody.battle/

Christopher Savoie and his first wife, Noriko Savoie, were married for 14 years before their divorce in January. The couple, both citizens of the United States and Japan, had lived in Japan but moved to the United States before the divorce.

Looks like CNN doesn’t know the US immigrant laws, not to mention the Japanese immigrant laws.

Mr. USA

Was she even in America long enough to obtain citizenship?
SWater

Of course, Kyung Lah knows Japan does not allow dual citizenship, but she awares her American audience don’t bother to know such a detail. She also understands, as long as Japan is concerned, her bosses don’t waste thier time for the minimum level of fact checking.

Gigi

Klaatu, Not sure where in the U.S. you live, but the truth is most people completely ignore Pearl Harbor day. There are usually a couple of interviews with veterans on television and a memorial service at Pearl Harbor. They would be much more likely to know about how the war ended and in no way dwell on it.

Pixel, In agreement. I was surprised.

Ajapa, Certainly, I wouldn’t presume to know what all Japanese think or feel. I was refering to my surprise at the postings here, which of course are just people interested in the story and site and not necessarily reflective of widespread sentiment. I honestly can say that every time a show comes on television about Japan it reflects admiration of Japanese society. And of course people are interested in how others do things differently or uniquely. It’s fun to learn about.

In the U.S. we are much more likely to hear comparisons about how much better students are doing in Japan than here or how much more efficient the companies are. Once in a while there will be a counter opinion about student or worker stress or how the economic downtown is affecting even Japan, but for the most part it’s positive. And you are correct about Americans being more likely to avoid discussing WWII as it’s an uncomfortable topic. As you pointed out, you can’t say “all”, but for the most part that’s what you see.

Kyrie

I think he means this sort of thing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzimIMdARCI

If the US “respects” Japan and thinks kindly of Japan NOW, then the US wouldn’t remind its entire population on the TV, every year, without fail, about the infamy of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor.

“In the U.S. we are much more likely to hear comparisons about how much better students are doing in Japan than here or how much more efficient the companies are. ”
Not in the mainstream general news or TV for the dumbed down. You might find this sort of thing on special shows like 60 Minutes or magazines like Time or Newsweek, but the general population don’t watch or read such things. The general population just watches their local news and sports and network entertainment shows at night, and during the day, the stay-at-homes are watching Oprah. However, the Pearl Harbor reminder is broadcast all day on that day on all kinds of news and media outlets.

Gigi

Just wanted to add that I do in fact agree that CNN is presenting this story one-sidedly, but they always do. I don’t know of anyone who actually trusts or believes what is put either on TV or in print. A recent poll showed that Americans have almost zero trust in the mainstream media and are turning more and more to the internet to get information.

CNN’s presentation of the story is actually the reason I became interested in it. I thought that there had to be more to the story, so I Googled it. Their hometown paper presented a fair and even view of the story, and I really believe Savoie tricked Noriko into coming here so that he could divorce her.

However, I don’t think the story represents antagonism towards the MSD flag or against Japanese society or people. In the past few years, the media has been presenting stories about lots of different countries where parents have difficulty retrieving their children or gaining visitation rights. CNN is playing into fears about losing children rather than anti-Japan feeling. This time it just happened to be Japan.

Klaatu

Lets not state the obvious – of course it’s one sided, that is why we’re here discussing at the ignominy of it.

SWater

According to the Kyodo News, Christopher Savie and 4 collaborators forcefully snatched children from the hand of his ex-wife and ran away. From the American news media, I didn’t realize that the “hero” needed so many accomplices just to see his children peacefully.

日本の捜査当局は、子どもが元妻の保護下にあったと指摘。元妻が抱きかかえた子どもを同容疑者が仲間と４人で無理やり奪って逃げたとして、逮捕は正当だとしている。
http://www.47news.jp/CN/200910/CN2009100401000076.html

“TOKYO, Japan (CNN) — Had this custody drama played out in the United States, Christopher Savoie might be considered a hero — snatching his two little children back from an ex-wife who defied the law and ran off with them.”
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/09/29/japan.father.abduction/index.html
aw

theres a lot of rubbish on here from ignorant posters painting c savoie as the only bad one here..
according to her testimony in the court records she knew she was going to get a divorce in america before she went.she got 800,000$.
this is because she could only get the multiple settlement she wanted in the states.thats why she went
(she threatened him when they were in japan that he would never see the kids again if he didnt give her a big pay out)
point is the only chance he ever had of seeing his kids again was to agree to a big payout to her in us..
the fact that japanese law gives one side so much power is disgraceful and needs to be changed.
furthermore she also has us citizenship

jikku

You are the ignorant one. Read comments on previous posts about this before asking the same things which have been discussed multiple times earlier.
Hajime

Read the court transcript. The judge, who acted as a mediator in divorce and custody settlement, ruled that she knew or must have know that she was coming to U.S. for a divorce and not reconciliation. He cited the fact that the husband filed for the divorce on the day of the wife’s arrival as a proof. He further goes on to argue that the wife may not have accepted emotionally but she must have known.

Personally, I think this judge was either biased or that his logic circuit is screwed. The action of husband only indicate the mental state of the husband. How could one argue that that indicate the mental state of the wife. If she knew she was coming here for divorce, she would have arrived in u.s. without children, in which case, she could got hefty divorce money and children at the same time.

She came to U.S. with her children to rescue her marriage. It is CS, who decided to damped her for his high school sweetheart and wanted kids for himself. If that involve locking a Japanese woman in an alien country for 10 years, then he had money and lawyer to legally arrange it for him.

Stereo

I find following parts of court transcript very interesting.
http://wtvf.images.worldnow.com/images/incoming/Investigates/savoie1.pdf
page 118 line 14
Judge “There was even a lot of concern at the time of mediation about the fact that he(Christopher Savoie) didn’t have a job, that he was going to have to pursue employment, that his best opportunities for employment were not here, they were really in the northeast where medical technology companies are located.”
“But even knowing all that, he felt that staying here and his children staying here presented him with the best opportunity for him to have a relationship with them.”

Why did he choose Tennessee?

http://wtvf.images.worldnow.com/images/incoming/Investigates/savoie1.pdf
page 19 line 2
THE WITNESS(Christopher Savoie) “Furthermore, my assets are locked in my house and car and 401 (K), so it’s not exactly — it wasn’t exactly a 50/50 split, even though it’s kind of what it looks like. If I withdraw my 401(K) to go and fight a legal battle in Japan, which according to that affidavit is probable a futile effort anyway, I — I don’t have the assets to be able to do that.”

He was a multi millionaire in Japan. Is this all he has? He does not have a job, but he seems to have a good living in the US. Where is his money?

leitmotiv

LOL…wut? You are clearly suggesting that he has assets beyond what has been reported that he is hiding. What money is he hiding? From whom is he hiding it? What facts do you have to support what you are obviously suggesting? Dont just hint such crap along with some “supporting” bits of transcript that you “find interesting”…put it together so its coherent. The alternative of course is to post it where is belongs — on some bigfoot/UFO/illuminati website.

Mister G

Blogger says it’s not a Hinomaru at all:

http://hoofin.wordpress.com/2009/10/03/the-savoie-trans-pacific-soap-opera-part-iv-then-i-promise-i-am-done/

http://www.japanprobe.com James

“Yeah, right.” – Wow, what a great argument.

He does not offer an explanation as to why Noriko’s face has been painted bright red and positioned opposite the American flag. He also does not explain why the “American flag stripes” completely change their facing on the right side of the graphic.

It’s pretty sad that he sees the points I’ve brought up to be “anti-Americanism.” You’ll also note that he is implying that I am some “anti-Yank”/un-American Brit, Aussie, or continental. lol

Mr. USA

We support you James!
The Overthinker

Your points re the stripes are bang on–I left a comment on his blog noting that.
I also found this comment on a related post on the other site:
“If every news agency had to do a research report on a purported victim before they would be covered by the news, you’d get no news.”
Translation–we want drama, not facts! Seriously, what the hell? He’s arguing that news agencies should not investigate the news before reporting it? Sometimes, yes, that works–for things people need to know. “Two planes have just struck the WTC” can’t wait until we know the passenger lists. But in this sort of case, which is barely news at all, just a live-action soap, it is just irresponsible.

The Overthinker

I’ve had a short convo with this blogger, and boy is he stubborn. He finally admits that at “one frame” and “one angle” it could seem like the war flag. Ye gods….

Ajapa

Dad and two kids in peaceful smiles with the American flag behind them. An unusually red-faced woman fused with the rising sun flag. They are placed opposite each other. Is it reminiscent of a wartime propaganda poster? I see an attempt to dehumanize the enemy there.

KellseeKool

Man,
if I was Noriko I would of taken my kids too
America is a crappy place to bring up kids
esp. when it comes to education.

Rich

Yeah, especially Tennessee! My goodness. The kids don’t speak English, have never lived anywhere else but Japan, and then they get taken to a backwards place like Tennessee and expect to just hole up with more Rednecks?

hushpuppies

I really dont think that TN is that bad..oh my gosh. Its not like mixed race children in Japan life is a bed of roses…Children are survivors, they do however need parents who arent complete morons..
jikku

Savoie’s lawyer is quoted in the Wall Street Journal saying, “That’s where he might have been a bit naive,” Mr. Yoshino said of his client. “No matter if it’s Japan or the United States, even if you are in the right, you can’t use force to get your way. That’s the same everywhere in the world.”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125469778121862591.html

Even his lawyer thinks he is guilty of kidnapping.

Mr. USA

“Even his lawyer thinks he is guilty of kidnapping.”

Finally, a lawyer that doesn’t lie!

flonk

too bad he didn’t get away with it. The wife sounds like a selfish crone! America is a much better place to raise children than Japan… Japanese kids all grow up being boring pushovers.

anyway, she deserves the red face because she is an embarrassment to japan for her lame behavior.

fg

逆切れかよ。英語でなんていうんだろう。
helical

lol, you’re not even trying now are you?

fg

Thanks for the translation!

helical

意訳とも呼べない程度ですがｗ

RMilner

If all Japanese kids grow up boring pushovers how come Noriko ex-Savoie sitting at home with $800,000 and her two children, and her ex-husband is in jail?

Bad Wolf

You can’t trust grown men who wear hats for no practical reason.
Daz

this country that supposedly has such high ideals for protecting the identity of children also seems to have less of a problem legally with manga and gravure magazines showing children in sexually provocative dress and indeed borderline child-porn situations.I know which I think is the better of these two situations.Also,the children have been kidnapped from America so they are unlikely to see themselves on American TV.

helical

Yes, the rights of imaginary children must be protected at all costs.
If such low-brow material didn’t exist, the urges and desires that the consumers realize are unacceptable in real life would just magically vanish away too.

As for the real kids being exploited for such businesses, more steps should be taken to actually provide protective measures. Seriously.
Shrimpy

But Daz –

what are YOU doing reading those dirty magazines and cartoons? They’re really like that? Ewwwwww……

micky

no one in US media is talking about his being married with two wives – stii now.

I wonder if this fact ever goes out, many dual citizenship guys may try to do the same????

Are the TN court decisions on this couple still effective even after they know that this couple is still leagally married in Japan, even today. They were not at the stage of discussing custody or anything if they were in Japan. Noriko landed on TN soil, just one day before C Savoie filed a divorce in TN. Until then, they were married in Japan.

TN court accepted the case on ONE DAY marriage on kids’ custody?
That is silly.
Angela

If my Japanese ex-husband got visitation rights after divorcing me and then quickly marrying the woman he had been having an affair with for some time (anyhwere between 3 and 5 years?) and then proceeded to exercise those visitation rights by having the children stay in his new home with the new wife and children and then proceeded to sue for custody because the way I was raising the children was making them have problems at his house on the weekends – and I knew that I could make a run back to the US and hide out because the US wouldn’t turn me over to the Japanese becaude they hadn’t signed the Hague treaty – that’s actually what I would do. (Please forgive the run-on sentence – but it is a run-on situation.)

Fortunately, my husband has not carried on a long-term affair and fortunately, if we had divorced when the children were small I think he would have exercised any visitation rights without the new wife in tow.

Why couldn’t C. S. have visited on his assigned weekends by staying at a motel and having the children join him? I think it is really cruel to both the ex-wife and the children themselves to make them accept the new family. I don’t see that a parent’s right to see their child extends that far.

CNN & the privacy of children

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