Why a French guy has started a hunger strike near the Olympic stadium in Tokyo?
On June 10, 2021, French citizen Vincent Fichot began a hunger strike outside Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium. His protest was not aimed at the Olympics, but at Japan’s long-standing refusal to address a silent human rights crisis: parental child abduction under the country’s sole custody system.
Since August 2018, Fichot has been unable to see his two children, who were taken by their Japanese mother. In Japan, such actions are not considered criminal, nor even civilly actionable in most cases. Unlike in Western countries where joint custody is the norm after divorce or separation, Japan grants sole custody to only one parent—typically the one who retains physical custody. The non-custodial parent, often the father, is left with no legal recourse to maintain a relationship with their children.
This legal framework not only violates basic parental rights but also raises serious questions about Japan’s commitment to international standards on children’s welfare. Japan is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which guarantees the right of a child to maintain meaningful contact with both parents. Yet in practice, the Japanese system routinely allows and even enables one parent to erase the other from a child’s life.
Fichot’s case is not isolated. Hundreds of foreign and Japanese parents face similar situations every year. What makes his case stand out is his relentless campaign for reform. In 2020, largely thanks to his advocacy, the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning Japan’s handling of child custody disputes and calling for the protection of parental access rights.
The hunger strike is a dramatic measure—but perhaps a necessary one. It exposes the deep failure of Japanese authorities to confront a system that inflicts emotional harm on both parents and children. While Japan enjoys the privileges of G7 membership and global prestige, it cannot continue to ignore the growing international outcry over its outdated family law system.
Change is overdue. Until Japan moves toward a custody model that reflects the needs of children and respects the rights of both parents, it will remain out of step with modern democratic values.
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