American children abducted to Japan listed in Congressional Record

Congressman Chris Smith has entered into the Congressional Record the names reported to him by left-behind American parents of children abducted to Japan.  Here is the link and also below is a listing of the children:

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2010-11-17/pdf/CREC-2010-11-17-pt1-PgE1939-3.pdf#page=1

M.B., abducted to Japan July 21, 1995

E.B., abducted to Japan July 21, 1995

Ezra Lui, abducted to Japan November 13, 1999

Kaira Kelly Litwiller, abducted to Japan June 10, 2003

Takoda Tei Weed, abducted to Japan January 16, 2004

Tiana Kiku Weed, abducted to Japan January 16, 2004

Kento Didier Touboule, abducted to Japan October 15, 2005

Mary Victoria Lake, abducted to Japan August 2005

Kai Hachiya, abducted to Japan December 28, 2006

Masahiro Brown, abducted in Japan since April of 2007

David N. Gessleman, abducted to Japan May 13, 2007

Joshua K. Gessleman, abducted to Japan May 13, 2007

Kaya Summer Xiao-Lian Wong, abducted to Japan August 2007

Wayne Kosaku Sawyer, abducted to Japan December 15, 2008

Yuuki Patrick McCoy (Kojima), abducted in Japan August 17, 2008

Keisuke Christian Collins, abducted to Japan June 16, 2008

Sean Hillman, abducted to Japan July 5, 2008

Kana Sugiyama-Gomez, abducted to Japan April 10, 2008

Joe Yamada, abducted to Japan September 1, 2008

Grace Danielle Starr, abducted to Japan January or February 2009

Brian Senna Starr, abducted to Japan January or February 2009

‘‘Mochi’’ Atomu Imoto Morehouse, abducted to Japan June 23, 2010

Also, here is a link to the Congressional Record section with the speeches made by Congressmen Smith and Moran prior to the passage of House Resolution 1326.  Additional cases are mentioned in these statements as well:

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2010-09-28/pdf/CREC-2010-09-28-pt1-PgH7043.pdf#page=2

HR1326 passes House 416 to 1!

A major victory for left-behind American parents with children abducted to or retained in Japan!

The only dissenting vote was from Representative Ron Paul of Texas.

Here is the THOMAS link with the bill summary/status:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.res.1326:

C-SPAN Coverage of House Debate on HR1326

Here is a link to the debate on HR1326 yesterday, September 28:

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/295685-2

The video archive page has a 10 hour video on it.  To get to the part about HR1326 you can slide the dot on the bar over to the right about 25% of the way from the beginning and look for the time clock on the video that says “live” above it , and watch for the Pacific Time number to say 12:24 PM (or the Eastern Time number to say 3:24 PM). Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Howard Berman introduces the Resolution at about 12:24 PT on that clock.

Here is a link to a website which has edited the C-SPAN archive to the relevant portion, with slightly reduced sound quality:

http://www.iapcr.org/hr1326/

House Resolution 1326 to be voted on this week

US House Resolution 1326, condemning the abduction of hundreds of American children to Japan, and introduced on May 5, 2010 by Congressman Jim Moran, will come to the Floor of the House of Representatives this week for a vote.

Link with more information about this resolution:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=hr111-1326

Video link of May 5 Capitol Hill Press Conference

http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=100950&catid=158

Link to May 5 Congressional Resolution Condemning Japan for Abduction of American Children

Here is an advance copy of the text of the U.S. House Resolution being introduced by Congressmen Chris Smith and Jim Moran on May 5, 2010 (National Holiday of “Children’s Day” in Japan), condemning Japan for the abduction of American children. 

http://www.crcjapan.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/CongressionalResolutionCondemningJapan.pdf

More details regarding May 5 resolution and related events

Christopher Savoie will be appearing on the Today Show on the morning of May 5 to speak about the House of Representatives bill condemning Japan for the kidnapping of American children.  He also will appear on a Dateline segment at 7:00PM this Sunday, May 9, on NBC.

Below is a media advisory with details regarding the May 5 Congressional press conference:

For Immediate Release
May 3, 2010

Contact: Emily Blout (Moran) (w)202.225.4376/(c)202.494.2798; Jeff
Sagnip (Smith) 609.585.7878

—Media Advisory—
Moran, Smith to Unveil New Initiative on Child Abduction to Japan
Congress, Parents Point to Troubling Phenomenon

Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday, Rep. Jim Moran, Democrat from
Northern Virginia, and Rep. Chris Smith, Republican from New Jersey,
will announce new steps to address the phenomenon of spousal abduction
of American children to Japan. Moran and Smith will be joined by other
Members of Congress, families of victims, and child custody experts to
shed light on this ongoing impasse with one of America’s closest
allies.

What:               Press conference on child abduction to Japan,
introduction of Congressional resolution

When:              Wednesday, May 5th at 1:30 pm

Where:             U.S. Capitol House Triangle (located on grassy
triangle on the House side of the Capitol’s East Front)

Who:                Reps. Jim Moran & Chris Smith, victims from
Northern Virginia and across the nation, experts on child abduction,
Members of Congress

Background:     Child abduction to Japan occurs when a child is taken
to Japan by one parent, usually a Japanese citizen, in contravention
of the custodial American parent’s wishes. At least 121 American
children are currently being held in Japan under these circumstances.
Nationwide, the State Department has recorded 277 cases since 1994.

http://www.moran.house.gov

#  #  #  #

Emily Blout
Press Secretary
Office of Rep. Jim Moran (VA-08)
2239 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington D.C. 20515
Main: 202 225 4376
Cell: 202 494 2798