Soon after Allred remarried in 1997, she claims Gulbraa began harassing her and her new husband. Gulbraa says he was concerned when one of his sons told him that their new stepfather was physically abusing them. Although a Division of Child and Family Services investigation found the abuse allegations to be unsubstantiated, a Utah court began hearings on the custody issue at Gulbraa's insistence.

In 2001, Allred said she and her family moved to Japan. It wasn't until several weeks later that she received a court order to appear in a Utah court.

"I was summoned to Utah State Court after I came back to Japan. I didn't appear in court because I had a 2-year-old daughter to care for as well as the boys and a husband. We had also suffered financially" from their move to Japan, Allred wrote in a court affidavit.

The judge found Allred in contempt of court and granted Gulbraa custody. Since then, Allred has fought the ruling from a distance, having felony charges pending against her. Federal court records confirm that international parental kidnapping charges are pending against both Allreds.

Salt Lake City attorney Steve Christiansen, who represented Allred, said she is a mother who has sought refuge in Japan from a father who won't let the matter go.

"He has ruined their life," Christiansen said. "She tried to find a safe place, and he has put them in a no-win situation."

Gulbraa sees the situation differently. He said his former wife has basically flouted a court's authority by moving to Japan and refuses to acknowledge his custody rights.

Experts say incidents involving international parental abductions have become a growing problem. In 1976 the United States was a major force in pushing for the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, which included 23 countries. Now, some 50 countries have adopted the treaty, in which countries agree to recognize custody court orders from other participating countries. But in spite of the Hague Convention, some of the top countries with pending custody cases with the United States are Hague members.

Although Japan is one of the top U.S. trade partners, the country has not adopted the Hague Convention. Gulbraa said his attempt at appealing to Japanese courts has had no success. Courts in Japan have told him they do not get involved in international parental custody conflicts.

"It's incredibly frustrating," said Gulbraa's attorney, Kevin Bond. "I think the U.S. government could put some heat on Japan if they wanted to."

There could be political consequences. Without a formal treaty, if the United States pressured Japan in this case, could the pressure come back to bite the United States in future custody cases when the tables are turned?