France issues arrest warrant over Japan 'parental kidnap'

Fichot staged a three-week hunger strike during the Tokyo Olympics earlier this year to draw attention to his case. - VINCENT FICHOT/ FACEBOOK

TOKYO (AFP): French authorities have issued an arrest warrant for a Japanese woman whose two children have been kept from their father in a case that has revived debate about "parental kidnapping" in Japan.

The children's French father Vincent Fichot -- a resident in Japan -- has drawn international attention over his attempts to reestablish contact with his son and daughter, who he says were kidnapped by their mother in 2018.