The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has posted a notice on the websites of the Japanese diplomatic missions in the United States and Canada that provides information on consultation services for people in those countries who adopted children through Baby Life, a now-defunct Tokyo-based private agency that abruptly ceased operations in July last year.
In principle, arrangements for adoptions are expected to be made domestically, which was specified in the adoption agency law that came into effect in April 2018.
Baby Life arranged adoptions of 174 children by foreign nationals from fiscal 2012 to 2018, with 106 going to Canada and 68 to the United States. According to a ministry source, Baby Life had affiliated organizations in both countries at the time.
Baby Life abruptly shut down in July of last year. A portion on the documents relating to children it placed for adoption were turned over to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, but after that, the whereabouts of a man representing the agency became unknown.
There were concerns that the children themselves or their adoptive parents in the two countries will not be able to contact anyone connected with the agency if they want to obtain information about the children's origins.
The notice, written in both English and Japanese, was posted on the website of the Japanese Embassy in the United States on May 17, the Japanese Embassy in Canada on May 19, and the Consulate General in New York on May 20. It states that Baby Life had ceased operations and that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which had taken possession of the documents, now provides consultation services.
The adoption agency law stipulates that the agency handling the adoption oversees the personal information of the children and biological parents. After an adoption is completed, the law compels the agency to make efforts to provide necessary information requested by the adopted child.
In the event that the agency ceases operations, it is required to hand over the materials to the prefectural government. However, the prefectures are not required to keep track of information on children abroad nor to contact or provide support to them individually.
"It is only natural for the government to take action in order to protect the rights of children," said Fumiharu Yamagata, a professor at Kansai University who is an expert on adoption system. "If a placement agency goes out of business in the future, the government should let people know where to go for advice in place of the agency."
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