In Japan, divorce splits parents from children. Could a law change end sole custody?

An amendment to Japan's Civil Code looks set to allow shared parenting for the first time.

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His own son and daughter are nowhere in sight. He longs for the ordinary moments he once shared with his children: taking them to the park, watching them wake up, and being part of their lives.

Deng, not his real name, is originally from Hong Kong and has lived in Japan for the past 22 years. It's where he built his life, met his former partner, and became a father to two children, an eight-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter.

But, he says, that life has come undone. His marriage fell apart, and his children were taken away by his ex-partner without warning.

His story is not unusual here. For decades, divorce in Japan often meant a child would lose the presence of one parent entirely. Often in cases like this, custody went to the parent who left with their children first.