Japan approves joining int'l child abduction pact
Japan approves joining int'l child abduction pact Japan's parliament on Wednesday approved joining an international child custody treaty amid foreign pressure for Tokyo to address concerns that Japanese mothers can take children away from foreign fathers without recourse.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced on Friday that Japan will join talks on a Pacific trade pact that would oblige the coun-try to open up sheltered industries including farming, long a bastion of protectionism.