Japan Drops Charges Against Tenn. Dad

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A spokesman for a Tennessee father arrested in Japan when he snatched his children from his ex-wife says Japanese authorities are dropping the case.

Christopher Savoie was arrested Sept. 30 in Fukoka, Japan, as he tried to enter the U.S. Consulate with his 9-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter. His ex-wife Noriko Savoie had violated a U.S. court custody decision by taking the children from Franklin, Tenn., to her native Japan a month earlier.

Savoie spokesman Wes Yoder said Thursday that his client was told Japanese authorities are closing the case.

After the mother took the children to Japan, a Tennessee court issued a warrant for her arrest and gave the father full custody. That order has no effect because Japan hasn't signed an international treaty governing child abduction.