Former Japanese abductee Soga Hitomi, who returned home from North Korea in 2002, has started work as a city official in charge of the abductions issue.

Soga and her mother were abducted by North Korean agents in August, 1978, while on their way home from shopping in the island city of Sado, Niigata Prefecture facing the Sea of Japan. Soga returned home after a bilateral summit in 2002, but her mother's whereabouts remain unknown.

She has been working as an official for the Sado city office, while continuing petition campaigns calling for the resolution of the abductions issue. She expressed a willingness to devote herself more to activities to secure an early return of other abductees, and was assigned to work from April 1 at a division within the city office specializing in the abductions issue.

She will give lectures on the issue across Japan, as well addressing visitors to Sado, including students.

Soga released a statement, expressing hopes to reunite other Japanese abductees with their families. It also said that she feels there is no more time to waste because her mother Miyoshi is now 92 years old and relatives of other abductees have also aged. It added that she wants to continue her efforts by further strengthening cooperation with relevant bodies.

The Japanese government says at least 17 of its citizens were abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s. Five were repatriated in 2002, but the other 12 remain unaccounted for.