Here are some ideas on new projects. 

1. 1.In cases of parental abduction, one parent often does not have sufficient Japanese skills to negotiate thru the city halls and other legal offices of Japan, we could offer a way for Japanese speakers to volunteer to help.  Probably lots of other ways they could help us also.  Ideas?
   

2. 2.Get the US State Department to issue an additional memo on the child visitation issues in Japan, to complement this one on international abduction. http://travel.state.gov/abduction_japan.html  Work with other embassies to issue similar memos.
   

3. 3.Point to other organizations who are active in changing laws in Japan.  Or suggestions on who in Japan to call and complain about ratifying treaties, etc.
   

4. 4.Sponsor studies on the effects of shared parenting that are specific to Japan similar to the many many studies out there done in other countries.  More details here.
   

5. 5.Create flyers publicizing the problems we describe and distribute in popular areas for foreigners, such as Roppongi, Shibuya, financial districts, embassys, etc.  (There are people that can be hired cheaply to do this once we have a flyer.)  More details here.
   

6. 6.Buy some words on google or get other search engine ads.  Use words like JAPAN that many are likely to use, but have few other ads right now.  Send  them to www.crnjapan.net.  This should get media interest quickly, although we need to try to get JAPANESE media interest, so must have a Japanized web site first.  This would also be expensive.
   

7. 7.Find some other way to target the tourist industry into Japan with this message.  Tell people about the real Japan that they are supporting with their tourist dollars.  Well done, this would get the interest of the Japanese government and the media.  The advantage of this is that it could be done outside of Japan, not in Japanese.  Perhaps we could distribute flyers at Narita?  (Could we get in to do that??)
   

8. 8.Articles in Japanese for magazines and newspapers are always good.
   

9. 9.Contact organizations opposed to Japan getting a set on the US security council.  Give them background on Japan's non0ratification of the Hague convention as additional ammunition.
   

10. 10.Talk to Japanese women's groups and coordinate joint activities focused on the connection between child support and proper visitation rights.  An involved father is a contributing father, type of thing.  Try to get some sympathetic common ground, as some of their issues overlap with ours.
    

11. 11.Look up what Japan is doing these days with respect to the UN.  They want to be a permanent security council member.  There have been suggestions on the communityinjapan group that we could "embarrass" Japan into signing this and other treaties by using their desire for security council membership as leverage.
    

12. 12.Koizumi's son, Yoshinaga Miyamoto, was a freshman studying Chinese at Kyoto Univerity of Foreign Languages.  He has been notably ignored by his father, the PM. It's a well known story, but seems ripe for exploitation in terms of raising the media profile of these issues. It might take contacts, but we could try to get to him and ask for another interview on children deprived needlessly of their fathers.  The interview could go on the website.  Something to investigate on your next trip to Japan!  His mother, Kayoko Miyamoto lives in an upscale neighborhood in Kamakura.   Older sons with PM Koizumi are Kotaro (23 in 2001, fledgling actor) and Shinjiro (20 in 2001, college student) An interview with them or the mother would be great also.
    

13. 13.Mass mailing, in Japanese, to women's groups men's groups, human rights groups, etc. about this problem and asking for their suggestions, help, and suggestions on how we might work together if they are interested in it as we are.
    

14. 14.Have men who cant see their children contact fathers who are keeping a child away from its mother. And have women who cant see their children contact mothers keeping children away from fathers.