Are other nationalities when married w/ Japanese woman and get divorced have no right for their children?

Question

I have a friend and he told me about his situation. He American and was once married with a Japanese woman yet they divorced after a year. They have a daughter and the mother go back to Japan, now the father is in Iraq since he is a US Navy. He always send letters and gift to her beloved daughter, yet his ex-wife's attorney sent him a letter telling him that he has no right to contact to his daughter because he has no custody on his daughter because according to Japanese law, there is no custody in Japan, is it right? What are we going to do in order to get contact with his daughter??? Please I need your response asap. thank you so much

Answer 1

Laws vary by state and country.

While I am not that familiar with Japanese laws (nor licensed to practice law in Japan), it's completely within reason for Japan to have a law that restricts custody and contact in this manner.

If Japanese law does not grant him custody, then as long as they are in Japan, there is nothing he can legally do.

Answer 2

I am not sure what the legalities are international law, but a very good friend married a Japanese national and after their divorce he used Military attorney's to not only establish custody, but to obtain SOLE custody for himself.
Please tell your friend to contact his CO (or what they call in them in the Navy) and get an attorney on it pronto.
If that baby was born on a military instillation or actually in the US she is legally a US Citizen, she has rights too in this case!