In Japan, which bans dual custody, a table tennis star refuses to hand back her son to her ex

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s once beloved table tennis star Ai Fukuhara is at the center of a child custody feud following the break-up of her marriage to a Taiwanese player, who was also a star in the sport in his country. Fukuhara’s former husband Chiang Hung-chieh and his lawyers have demanded that she return their younger child she took to Japan last year and has since refused to send back. Unlike many other countries, Japan does not allow dual custody. There have been some high-profile cases brought up by foreign husbands divorced from Japanese women accusing them of child abduction.