Quote:
Originally Posted by UtakataChan
Why is that? Where do all the Japanese orphans end up, then?
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I should have written "international adoption policy" there, but the domestic policy is so flimsy to begin with that it had might as well not exist.
In general (I think I wrote this earlier in the thread) actual orphans usually end up living with family - aunts, uncles, older siblings, grandparents, etc. As blood ties are considered most important, most people who are unable to have children invest huge amounts of time and money into trying... But don`t consider adoption.
Most of the children in Japanese "orphanages" aren`t orphans at all, but children who are there temporarily - at least on paper. It is VERY rare for a parent to give up rights to their child. Instead, they put them in a home if they are unable to raise them with the ultimate goal (again, on paper) of coming back to get them once the living situation has changed. Does that always happen? No, but as they do not give the children up there are very few opportunities for another family to take the child.
Is it technically possible to adopt? Yes. But as there is not really any sort of adoption policy, it is difficult for someone even living in Japan. Babies are simply not up for adoption to begin with - I think the starting age that Japanese law allows a Japanese child to be put up for adoption at is 3... But of course, as there isn`t a strong policy to begin with, I`m sure there are exceptions.
I`ve known 2 girls in the US who were supposedly adopted from Japan... They were both actually Korean, but were just adopted via Japan.
The point is, you can`t just walk up and say "Hey, I want a kid from Japan!" and get one. The world does NOT work that way. Even in the countries that have very liberal international adoption policies, it`s still not even CLOSE to that easy.