脳性マヒの子供をもった在日外国人の苦難

Father weighs in on the quality of medical care for disabled children in Japan

October 16th, 2009 by James
更新　CＮＮ　Kyung Lah の迷走記事の続報である。結局サボイ氏とはあまり関係ない、ということで、記事の当事者がそういっている。ご本人のサイトをみると、

Dilemma
Imagine being trapped in an international legal maze involving 3 different countries.

３国のはざまにある問題といっているので、CNNの記事とは違って、やはり、奥様は日系ブラジル人ということでまず間違いないだろう。日本にいる、アメリカ人男性とブラジル人女性が離婚して、その子供が脳性マヒだった、という事例である。奥様が連れて行ったもう１人の子供にあまり会えない、ということだろうが、共同親権、ハーグはこの際、横に置いておこう。

当事者は、

It shouldn’t detract from the failings of the system for Japanese and foreigners and the need for an international standard

　日本の制度に欠点があり、国際的標準の必要性を云々する。欠点を云々するのは、それはそれで、いいが、国際的標準云々するなら、国際的標準を明記すべきで、そこいらへんは、気に入らないが、しかし、苦境にあること自体は事実だろうから、その点は手伝って上げたい。

　残念なことに、ご自身のサイトが英語で書いてある。まだ、出来たばかりのようなので詳細はわからない。
　Japan Probeの方から、ちょっと拾うと

National insurance covers 3 home nurse visits per week (1.5 hrs)- if there are sufficient providers available- there are not. Most will not allow the parent to leave the house for shopping, etc

国民健康保険で、週３回介護訪問を受けられるはずだが、人で不足で受けられない。（あるいは、希望通り利用できていないのか、そこら辺は曖昧）それで、買い物などの外出もできない。

There is no “day care” available for medically fragile children, ie. requiring a nurse’s care

　看護が必要な脳性マヒなどの病弱な子供はデイケアも受けられない。大抵は親のつきそいが必要。

The closest facility for a short stay (another Prefecture) has 4 beds being used by 70+ parents.　Reservations must be made 3-4 months in advance. 　

ショートステイも。他の県にまで行かねばならず、そこでも、４つのベッドが７０以上の親によって使われている。予約は３-４ヶ月前にしなくてはならない。

Most prefectures don’t even have a dedicated children’s hospital.

ほとんどの県では専門の小児病院がない。

There are few support/advocacy/ NPO groups. Organizations like United Cerebral Palsy do not exist

脳性麻痺者を支援するNPOがほとんどない。

We were never once approached by a counselor, nor was it even suggested by another doctor.

カウンセラーが尋ねにきてくれない。

・・・・といった不満があるようだ。

　ご自身のブログからは、

Now, imagine being denied all information and access to your newborn daughter for over a year and counting.

Now, imagine being unable to return to your own country to get help for your son without becoming liable for international child abduction and critically weakening your legal situation with respect to custody of your daughter.

　奥さんが連れて行った娘の近況についても知ることが出来ないし、アメリカに帰ったら国際的な子供の誘拐犯にされてしまうかもしれない、といった、不安を吐露されている。

　真実をついているところもあろうし、誤解もあると思うが、誤解をといてあげるのも手助けになる。また、何か手助けできるいい知恵があったら教えてあげてほしい。

　皆様のご協力をお願いする次第である。

更新
MFT で、Curzon氏が適切なコメントをしている。

Aceface and M-Bone: Actually, I directly know two Japanese families raising kids with mental illness, one with pretty severe autism, who left Japan to live in the US because the care in Japan was poor. The big issue comes down to what you can afford to pay―if you have private corporate health insurance and are in a wealthy and developed area, the US is a much better place to be with far greater care available. Japan’s system guarantees a minimum standard of care, and it’s hard to get above that, even if you have the money, because luxurious care doesn’t really exist, unless you’re an old person who wants to live in an onsen resort.

That being said… Kyung Lah’s latest article is so totally nuts I don’t know where to begin. Like much of what she writes, the facts are scrambled, there are huge leaps in logic, and you find yourself asking so many questions that I find myself doubting the sincerity and trustworthiness of the subject, despite my instincts to sympathize with him. Let me Fisk this article piece by piece.

The basic facts: Morrey is American. His wife is Brazilian. He is based in Okazaki. They have a son with cerebral palsy who Morrey cares for, and a younger daughter who his wife has practical custody over. They divorced in a Japanese court. Morrey says he is fighting for joint custody in Japanese court.

That much I understand.

But who can even begin to understand the rest of the article?

“Morrey has stayed in Japan the last year, trying to get the courts to recognize that he has joint custody of the children in Brazil (he has not yet applied for such custody under U.S. law).”

I’m lucky that, as a lawyer, I know that when foreigners marry and divorce in Japan they apply the law of their home country. But on what basis is he trying to get Brazilian law to apply to give him joint custody? Why not go for American law, which he probably has a lot more access to materials, precedents, and competent US legal counsel to submit briefs to Japanese courts. How does he know what Brazilian law would say―is he fluent in Portugese? What’s the catch? What is this article not telling us?

(And the grammar is backwards too―they do not mean that he is “trying to get the courts to recognize that he has joint custody of the children in Brazil.” They mean he is “trying to get courts to recognize that Brazilian law would grant him joint custody of the children.” There is nothing that explains why he has any physical nexus with Brazil such that he has joint custody there.)

UPDATE/RESOLVED: Google has shown that a previous version of this article said earlier, “Brazil has already recognized him as the joint custodian of the children.” That has been removed (without stating the correction in the current article) as it was probably wrong (and fails the sniff test―what Brazilian court did Morrey petition, from Japan, that had jurisdiction to even make such a ruling outside of its territory?) That was what the “in Brazil” comment was meat to refer to, but they forgot to amend that that after they made their correction.

I also can’t practically envision what he expects will happen. He is hoping for a Japanese court to take the unusual step of recognizing joint custody over his daughter… so that he can leave Japan, go to the US, and be physically apart from his daughter. Practically, what does he expect will happen? Does he want his wife to let his daughter visit him in the US? Or let him visit her in Japan? We’ve already seen that Japanese courts can’t even enforce this type of visitation, so why is he bothering? The best way to do this is to reach some sort of agreement with his ex-wife and just move, possibly coercing visitation through offers of monetary support.

And why is he looking to get JOINT custody of BOTH children? The article makes it clear that the wife can’t handle taking care of their disabled son. Why not go straight for the gold and get sole custody for his son, period?

“He is afraid that if he heads home for the U.S. with Spencer without that, he could be subject to international child abduction laws, and he also fears such a move could hurt his chances of getting the Japanese family court to give him joint custody of his daughter.”

Why? This makes no sense. The article makes it pretty clear that his wife abandoned her husband and son. That gives HIM a cause of action, not her.

“Not seeing his daughter Amelia again is what is keeping Morrey in Japan. He has been selling off everything he owns, trying to keep himself and Spencer afloat, hoping the Japanese court will bring him some legal connection to his child. He is stuck choosing between caring for his son, who needs the better resources of the U.S., and hoping to be a father to his daughter.”

My initial comment in this post notwithstanding, on what basis does Japan lack sufficient medical services for disabled children compared to the US? That only makes sense if Morrey has access to expensive private health insurance in the United States, but he has quit his job and is selling off his possessions to stay solvent, how would he have better care in the US? At least in Japan he has access to national health insurance, which is probably free, or almost free, in his case.

So I’m utterly confused and bewildered. Nothing here makes sense. I really, really want to sympathize with Craig Morrey, I’m just suspicious of what the real story is after poking so many holes in the logic of the story asking so many obvious questions.