Families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea were forced to bring in another new year without their loved ones at home. They are urging the Japanese government to hold a bilateral summit with North Korea, and seek opportunities to call for support from the new US administration led by President-elect Donald Trump to resolve the issue.

The parents of the abductees are enduring a race against time. This year, Yokota Sakie, who is the mother of Yokota Megumi, will turn 89 years old and Arimoto Akihiro, the father of Arimoto Keiko, will be 97.

Kim Yo Jong, who is the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, made comment in a press statement last February that a visit by then Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio was possible, but Pyongyang later indicated rejection and never changed its stance that the issue has already been settled.

In the first-ever US-North Korea summit in 2018, then President Donald Trump raised the abduction issue and noted the importance of settling it.

The abductees' families are paying close attention to whether incoming US President Trump will meet the North Korean leader again. They plan to visit the US in the future to work with the new government to help resolve the issue.

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