Hague Convention Seminar in London

The Hague Convention Seminar in London: Hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan

Blog By Donna Tilbrook

On the 28^th of October 2025, I’ll be attending a fascinating seminar in London hosted by the Hague Convention Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, acting as the Japanese Central Authority (JCA). The event marks over eleven years since Japan implemented the 1980 The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, and it promises to offer valuable insights into how Japan handles cross-border parental child abduction cases today.

The programme features distinguished speakers, including Mr. Yasuyuki Ebata, Director of the Hague Convention Division at Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, discussing “The Implementation of the Hague Convention in Japan: Myths and Reality.” Mr. Kousuke Udagawa, an International Hague Network Judge from the Supreme Court of Japan, will speak about the “Procedures and Results of Return Proceedings in Japan,” while Ms. Akiko Ota from the Ministry of Justice will outline the forthcoming Civil Code Reform on child rearing after divorce.

As someone deeply involved in family law, I find this area particularly meaningful. At Best Solicitors, we regularly assist families navigating complex international disputes and child abduction cases. These matters are never simple; they blend emotional sensitivity with intricate legal frameworks. The Hague Convention offers a vital structure for ensuring children are returned swiftly and fairly when wrongfully removed across borders, but every jurisdiction applies it differently.

Hearing directly from Japan’s leading authorities will be an invaluable opportunity to deepen our understanding of how the Convention operates within their legal and cultural context. Japan’s upcoming Civil Code reform, which updates child-rearing laws post-divorce, is especially interesting as it reflects a growing international movement toward recognising shared parental responsibility.

I’m genuinely excited to learn, exchange perspectives, and bring fresh insights back to our team. At Best Solicitors, we pride ourselves on combining expert legal knowledge with empathy and international awareness. This event is a reminder that collaboration across borders and between legal systems is essential to protecting families and serving justice.

Request a callback

We used best solicitors to purchase our property. It was so easy and stress free. I found the app to upload all our documents onto was very easy to use and understand. Communication was great, we were kept updated regularly and help was always there when needed. Overall experience was good, I would highly recommend them.

Sykes

Best Solicitors has done wonderful work regarding my court case with my daughter always email you with all the relevant documents and always polite on phone and in person.

Christopher

Brilliant solicitor. Helped amazingly. Would definitely recommend.

Anonymous

From start to finish we have been updated with the progress if our mortgage application. Bethan and her team were brilliant, able to help answer any questions we had. Very polite, professional company. They made our first time buying a property so stress free and easy. The house purchase went through so quickly. We would highly recommend them to anyone. Thank you for all of your help and support through this big chapter in our life.

Shaun & Sam

Used Best Solicitors for years now because of Stephanie and will carry on doing so. Stephanie is so helpful and the knowledge she holds is phenomenal. Her attention to detail is second to none.

Thomas

Steph, Courtney, Emma and the rest of the team are simply incredible. An extraordinarily personable yet professional and highly effective group of people. Our move was complicated with Steph and Best having to liaise with an unbelievably poor firm that was handling the sale of our new house, throughout the entire process our emails and calls were returned within a few hours, providing constant updates and reassurance. I could not recommend Steph and the team at Best highly enough, they’re absolutely worth every penny.

Owen & Gemma

Having shopped around for local conveyancers I chose to go with best due to the good feedback from previous customers. Steph, Emma and Courtney have been brilliant throughout the process of my purchase. Various hurdles were thrown up and the team dealt with them diligently and concisely whilst keeping me updated throughout. I will be using Steph and her team for an upcoming sale and would recommend them to friends and family.

Ben

Amazing experience with BEST, Bethan and Kerrie very supportive and kept us informed all the way through the process, very quick to respond to queries and nothing too much trouble! Once again thank you so much!

Malcom

Great service from Ellie Whitehead in the Wills and Probate Dept. Ellie answered all of my questions and helped me decide how best to structure my will. Very helpful and prompt communications.

Liz

My husband & I have recently had the pleasure of meeting Ellie who dealt with the process of helping us with our wills. Ellie was brilliant from start to finish explaining everything to us to make sure we understood everything. Would highly recommend anyone to get in touch with Best Solicitors. We are 100% happy with the service we had.

Yvonne

Fantastic service from start to finish! They have now helped me through two transactions and I couldn’t recommend these guys more. Will be 100% using in the future.

Gabe

Best Solicitors & Stephanie made our first experience of buying a house, the easiest & quickest experience ever. Stephanie answered any questions we had & explained the process in detail every step of the way. Nothing was too much trouble. Thank you Stephanie & Best Solicitors.

Charlotte

I have worked with Best Solicitors for many years and have always found them to be very friendly, personable, and passionate about their work.

Simon

I recently decided due to circumstances to change my will. I chose Best Solicitors and must say the service was excellent. I can only thank Stephanie and Alicia for the prompt and professional service Making a hard decision or writing a will as smooth and effortless as possible but also incredibly professional. Thank you and I would recommend Best Solicitors to anyone who is in need of help.

Roger

Having sustained an injury at work, I took a few months to decide if/how i wanted to proceed. However, as the injury continued to cause me issues and affect my health, I decided to approach Best Solicitors for legal advice. I am glad I did, the advice they gave me was honest, fair and informative and although they gave no guarantees of the outcome, they were supportive and reassuring to my situation. My solicitor was Stacey Smith and throughout the 4years my personal injury claim went on for , Stacey was supportive and reassuring and consistent in her approach and advice, until the very end when we got the outcome we had been waiting for. Given my own personaI experience, I would recommend both Best and Stacey to anyone in a similar situation.

Kelly

Been such a joy working with Steph. Nothing bad to say about the process. Prompt, Professional and on time; all the time. Can’t recommend enough!

Chris

I would highly recommend Best Solicitors. They provided a fantastic service and were only an email or phone call away for whatever I needed. Especially Chloe Birks, she went above and beyond to help guide me through the process as a first-time buyer. Thanks again!

Joseph

Best Solicitors, and in particular the Wills and Probate department, were very efficient and in processing probate. The pathway was clearly defined by Anne Rogers, and followed a logical process, making it straightforward at a difficult time.

Anonymous

Positive excellent prompt friendly service. Reasonable price. Will strongly recommend to friends and family. We will definitely use the firm in future.

Mortilal

Steph was extremely patient and helpful throughout the whole process. Steph was always on hand if needed. With this being our first mortgage, the process was smooth and extremely well explained. The branch as a whole is so approachable, we called many times due to having so many little questions to ask constantly and this was never too much trouble. Would use again and would highly recommend.

Anonymous

They are awesome – I don’t have enough words.

Patricia

I dealt with Megan Armitage. She was very calm, professional, and very patient. She explained things I didn’t understand again and again without issues. She is very knowledgeable, and she always kept me informed of all information whether big or small. Thank you very very much Megan. You are simply the best and you are an asset to the company. It was lovely working with you.

Anonymous

Helpful fast and professional service. 5 stars.

Mark

Elizabeth was so thorough, and so patient with my many (sometimes daft) questions. She made everything seem very straightforward. I cannot recommend Elizabeth enough.

Kirsty

Chloe helped massively throughout the process of buying our first home, and gave professional and helpful advice to any, and all, questions that we had. She worked promptly and managed to get us to completion earlier than we expected. I still feel if we have any issues or further questions we would happily reach out to Chloe, all in all we are very impressed with the service and would definitely use again if needed or would recommend to a friend!

Sophie

Had a seamless experience with Best Solicitors Ltd. Really easy to get hold of and the communication from them was timely and informative. Made my house buying experience very straight forward. Thank you very much.

Charlotte

Massive thank you to Best Solicitors and in particular Alicia Mate for the help and advice we were given when recently making our wills. Everything was explained clearly, quickly and professionally making the whole experience so easy for us both. A job really well done and we would highly recommend Best to anyone looking for support either with their wills or any other legal matter they may have. Thanks again.

Nick

Super professional, very knowledgeable, very efficient, and very flexible in making himself available to meet in person even at short notice.

Bakul

After the recent passing of my mother, I needed to rewrite my own Will. I contacted Best Solicitors, who I’d lodged it with 5 years prior, & I was put in touch with Ellie Whitehead in the Wills & Probate dept. She guided me through the steps, explained everything in plain English & ensured I understood every part of my new Will. The costs were made clear at the beginning & all the work was completed quickly & efficiently. I was very happy with the service & will retain Best as my go to legal firm. I’m also reassured that if the worst happens to me, then Best are fully equipped to support my family in dealing with my estate.

Shamsa

Used this company as a first-time buyer, which is scary enough on its own but was completely felt as ease all way through with Bethan and Kerrie, could not recommend enough! Everything was on time, chased up and regular updates throughout. Will be using this company again in the future and will definitely be recommending to family and friends!

Amy