September 29, 2009 4:55 PM

Christopher Savoie Follows Abducted Children to Japan, Gets Arrested (Photos)

By
Sammy Rose Saltzman
Topics
Daily Blotter
(Twitter.com)
Photo: Christopher Savoie and his son, Isaac, 8, and daughter, Rebecca, 6.

TOKYO(AP) An American father was arrested in Japan after snatching his children from his ex-wife, who had taken the kids to her native country without telling him.

Photos: Father's Fight to Rescue Children

The back-and-forth exposes a simmering diplomatic dispute over Japan's traditional favoritism toward mothers in custody battles. While the father was apprehended by Japanese authorities, a U.S. court has issued an arrest warrant for the mother.

Christopher Savoie grabbed his two children — an 8-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl — while they were walking to school on Monday, forcing them into a car and driving away, Akira Naraki, a police spokesman in the southern city of Fukuoka, said Wednesday.

His former wife, Noriko, then called the police. Savoie, a 38-year-old technology executive from Franklin, Tennessee, was arrested just as he was about to enter the U.S. Consulate in Fukuoka with his children, said Tracy Taylor, a spokeswoman at the consulate.

Savoie is chief executive officer of Franklin-based Tazzle Inc. Tazzle makes data sharing devices for BlackBerry mobile phones and has an office in Tokyo that looks after manufacturing in Asia, according to the company's Web site.

The divorced couple and their children were living in Tennessee, but Noriko came to Japan with the kids in August without telling her ex-husband, Taylor said.

Christopher Savoie only discovered his children were gone when their school called him Aug. 13 to say they had not showed up, according to an affidavit filed with the arrest warrant against his ex-wife for violating the terms of custody.

Alarmed that he would no longer be able to see his children, Savoie flew to Japan to reclaim them, said Jeremy Morley, one of his lawyers.

VIDEO COURTESY OF CBS AFFILIATE WTVF NASHVILLE

Divorced fathers in Japan typically don't get much access to their children because of widespread cultural beliefs that small children should be with their mothers.

That stance has begun to raise concern abroad, following a recent spate of incidents involving Japanese mothers bringing their children back to the country and refusing to let their foreign ex-husbands visit them. The United States, Canada, Britain and France issued a joint statement in May urging Japan to address the problem.

"Japan is an important partner and friend of the U.S., but on this issue we have quite different points of view," said David Marks, U.S. Embassy spokesman in Tokyo.

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen's office has not been contacted and has not become involved in the case, a spokeswoman said.

Japan has had close ties to Tennessee since Nissan built its first U.S. manufacturing plant in suburban Nashville in the early 1980s. Nissan relocated its North American headquarters from California to Franklin in 2006, and the Japanese consulate for five southern states was moved from New Orleans to Nashville early last year.

(Family Photo/WTVF)
Photo: Christopher Savoie and his son, Isaac, 8, and daughter, Rebecca, 6.

Children are increasingly caught in the middle of those legal battles as the number of divorces among couples of Japanese and foreign nationality have almost doubled to nearly 19,000 cases in 2008 from just more than 10,000 in 1998, according to the Health and Welfare Ministry.

Japan has yet to sign the 1980 Hague Convention on International Child Abduction, which seeks to ensure that custody decisions are made by the appropriate courts and that the rights of access of both parents are protected. Tokyo has argued that the Hague Convention could hinder its ability to shield Japanese women and their children fleeing abusive foreign husbands.

Photos: Father's Fight to Rescue Children

Tokyo is aware of the need to address the issue and is considering joining the Hague convention, said Kosei Nomura, a Foreign Ministry official in charge of international law. He said at least 70 dispute cases exist between Japan and the U.S., but the government does not have the exact number.

Because of Japan's stance, U.S. court rulings in the past have decided in favor of keeping children in that country, saying American parents would otherwise totally lose their custody right.

Local police in Japan said they received court permission to keep Savoie in custody for 10 days. He was not officially charged. American Consulate officials have twice visited Savoie, who also has a Japanese lawyer.

The Savoies were divorced in January and the mother was given primary custody of the children, while the father was granted limited time with them, according to court records.

Savoie has since remarried. His wife, Amy, told CBS's "The Early Show," that Noriko was not letting the children talk to him on the telephone after she took them to Japan.

U.S. Representative Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican, told The Associated Press he has introduced a bill called the International Child Abduction Prevention Act of 2009, which would penalize countries that show a pattern of not cooperating to resolve such cases. Penalties could include being denied military aid and certain loans, he said.

Photos: Father's Fight to Rescue Children


Add a Comment See all 60 Comments
by Gazira November 15, 2009 5:05 AM EST
Regardless of the specifics of this case and who is to blame here, this is an issue that Japan seriously needs to address. I've been there, done that and managed to win my custody battle in Japan (I'm a Scots bloke, so this is quite unusual). However, we can't go back to Japan to visit family because the law is overwhelmingly hostile to foreign fathers in particular, and not very supportive of foreign mothers.

In all cases, it's the children who suffer most and Japan needs to start protecting the rights of her children to see both parents, not just the rights of her citizens to flout international laws.
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by Aonghas_Crowe October 19, 2009 6:46 AM EDT
Here's a little insight into what Mr. Savoie has just gone through from someone who did time in the very same jail as Savoie did. The crime may be different, but the judicial process and treatment is for the most part the same.

http://aonghascrowe.wordpress.com/2009/06/21/cuckoo-cuckoo/
Reply to this comment
by The_Vapour October 11, 2009 9:52 PM EDT
Here is a summary of what American news media isn't telling.

He decided to ditch his Japanese wife and rekindle relationship with his college sweetheart, who is his current wife. He move back to America, then lured his soon to be ex wife and children to America with a promise of reconciliation and new life in America. They never lived in America before.

On the day of their arrival, he sue for divorce and joint custody. The court grant his wish and now three Japanese are locked in Tennessee. He immediately marry his current wife who also divorced her husband about the same time. Some comments elsewhere is saying that Japanese ex wife would have been kicked out in two years time when her spouse visa run out, in which case, he would have kids all to himself.
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by Yukoshimizu October 5, 2009 4:07 PM EDT
I am a 27 year old woman that has lived in the US for most of my life. I was born in Tokyo, Japan and was brought to the States by my mother along with 2 of my older brothers. My mother was escaping my very abusive father and came to the US because my grandmother lived here where she married my Step-grandfather that was in the Airforce. I can not sit here and say who is in the right or wrong because no one really knows how the Savoie marriage really was behind closed doors. I CAN say however that the bold and brave actions of my mother did give me a better life. I know I'll never really know what kind of life I could have had if we stayed in Japan. I do know that if we did stay there I would have grew up in a home where my mother was being abused. I am thankful for my mothers actions even though we still had a hard life growning up making ends meet because of my mothers language barrier. But she taught me a lot about life in regards to being a great parent, working hard for her kids, and instilling the value of having a lot of self worth. To her I thank my life. Not all cases of parents taking children away from the other parent is bad.
Reply to this comment
by karuizawaohana October 5, 2009 11:11 AM EDT
(Taxprojoe: Yes you are prejudice!! First of all, we are all Americans and for you to call citizens from TN rednecks makes you prejudice. 2nd, the children who were illegally taken to Japan are AMERICAN Citizens not Japanese! Regardless of the mother's intent or feelings, we all have to follow the appropriate judicial process to resolve these matters. The question now should be, What is the U.S. going to do to help resolve the over 100 cases of illegal abduction and help return American citizen children back with their parents? "Boycott Japan" "Stop buying Japanese products/automobiles" If the American people pull together we can make it happen!!)

Correction: The kids have japanese citizenship and American citizenship from what I read. So they have 2 passport from 2 different nations.
Also what is this boycott of Japan? Why do you want to go to the extreme now?

I think we all need to encourage Japan to change their law but not attack them.

I think we just need to keep writing to Japanese goverment and write inside Japanese blogs that the Japanese citizen itself need to be taught about both parents to be involved in childrens life..
Reply to this comment
by macsmus01 October 4, 2009 7:58 PM EDT
I have been living in Japan for 7 years now.
I can not believe that in the past 10 years 20,000 children have been abducted from America and brought to Japan by their Japanese mothers.
I have talked to a lot of Japanese and read many Japanese articles regarding this matter, the response I got is that most Japanese think it is funny, support the mothers 100% or make excuses for her behavior and are generally happy to stick it to America (basically any country apart from Japan).
I would just hate to imagine the total number of children worldwide abducted and brought to Japan.
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by 3princessmom October 4, 2009 4:23 AM EDT
You know I have to add this, he is just a dam low life American man, he goes to Japan and like all the other comments make clear he brings her to the U.S. for his benefit. Oh please he should rot in hell and if his new Barbie wife if reading this you are like the "other Ralph Mader" chick you knew he was married and all his traveling and his own business and the "dollars" now take the dollars with the Drama, and suck it up chica, I am for the Mother for the Mother for the Mother.....Yeah you Go Girl stay in Japan and don't fool with these American decievers.....
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by 3princessmom October 4, 2009 4:13 AM EDT
I totally agree with the dam "redneck" court, I am in dam Clarksville, TN and I am going throught the same thing except that my daughters father is in another state. I feel the same way if you respected the fact that your wife was from a foreign country and then respect that you were wrong buddy, let time tell if the kids want to be with you and do not force the issue, you have remarried an American Women, so let her move on too and let someone else love her and care for the kids and wait until they are adults to have a relationship with you. Yes I am very upset with this backward state and its court system. I am from up north and know that if I were in NY it would have been resolved the old fashion way.
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by Karumekenge October 3, 2009 4:24 PM EDT
I can understand Chris' frustrations. I think those who are not yet married should avoid to marry people who belong to a different culture. I have a Japanese girlfriend. She would never say "I love you". She would call me by name: Mr Kalumekenge. She wouldn't reciprocate my love for her. Love life is real boring. You real feel that you should look for love and comfort elsewhere. I can easily understand why Chris cheated and divorced. I am glad that mine is just a girlfriend.
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by lindameo2 October 25, 2009 5:13 AM EDT
I must warn you please be careful. Sometimes I am not sure Japanese know how to love. It is not their fault, their parents don't seem to care about them much. Anway, there is always exceptions, but your girlfriend maybe looking for an easy ride. Some girls marry for money. Many of my Japanese friends have done so. If a man asked them out without money they would not even think twice even is he loves her. So be careful ok.
by Karumekenge October 3, 2009 4:23 PM EDT
I can understand Chris' frustrations. I think those who are not yet married should avoid to marry people who belong to a different culture. I have a *** girlfriend. She would never say "I love you". She would call me by name: Mr Kalumekenge. She wouldn't reciprocate my love for her. Love life is real boring. You real feel that you should look for love and comfort elsewhere. I can easily understand why Chris cheated and divorced. I am glld that mine is just a girlfriend.
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