Japanese police have released a Tennessee man accused of trying to snatch his children from his ex-wife who had taken them from the United States in violation of a court order, the Associated Press reports.

Christopher Savoie, 38, of Franklin, Tenn., was arrested Sept. 28 after his ex-wife accused him of grabbing the two children, 8 and 6, on their way to school in the southern city of Yanagawa. At the time, he was trying to make his way to a U.S. Consulate.

Savoie was granted full custody of the children by a Tennessee court after his ex-wife, Noriko Savoie, took them out of the country. An arrest warrant was also issued for her in Tennessee.

Japan allows only one parent to have custody of children, which leaves many divorced fathers without access to their children until they are grown.

Prosecutors have not pressed charges against Savoie, but also have not dropped the case the AP says.

The Savoie case is the latest in a spate of recent incidents involving Japanese mothers bringing their children back to their native land and refusing to let their foreign ex-husbands visit them, the AP says.

The United States, Canada, Britain and France have urged Japan to sign the 1980 Hague Convention on International Child Abduction that would honor the decision made by courts in the country of the abducted children's original residence -- and protect rights of access of both parents.

Update at 1:59 p.m. ET: Prosecutors said Savoie has told them he regretted breaking Japanese law and promised them that he would never repeat the mistake, according to the Kyodo News agency. Savoie also told prosecutors that he planned to resolve the custody dispute with his ex-wife through dialogue, it reported, according to the AP.

(Photo from Williamson County Court Clerk and Master's Office via AP)