Families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea have called for the rescue of all victims as soon as possible at a symposium held by the Japanese government in Tokyo.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa attended Saturday's event, which coincided with the week designated by the government to raise awareness about human rights abuses by the North Korean regime.
Hayashi, who is in charge of the abduction issue, said it is of the highest priority for the government led by Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, and that it will make an all-out effort as one team to enable the abductees to return to Japan as soon as possible.
He said the Japanese government will continue to seek the backing of the international community, referring to the new US administration led by President-elect Donald Trump which will start next month.
The head of a group of abductees' families, Yokota Takuya, whose sister, Megumi, was abducted when she was a first-year junior high school student, said 22 years have passed since the last Japan-North Korea summit.
He said not a single abductee has come home since the return of five to Japan after the summit, calling North Korea's abductions of Japanese nationals an ongoing human rights issue.
Yokota said the abductees' families have set a deadline so that the abductees' parents can see their children while they are alive.
He urged the government under Ishiba's leadership to stress in the next summit with North Korea that there is no bright future for either country without a resolution of the issue.
Megumi's mother Yokota Sakie said time is passing although so many people, including the prime minister and many other lawmakers and good citizens, are coming together. She said she cannot continue to wait day after day, and asks from the bottom of her heart for an early resolution of the issue.
The Japanese government says at least 17 of its citizens were abducted by North Korean agents, of whom five returned in 2002.
Only two of the remaining 12 abductees' parents are alive: 88-year-old Sakie and 96-year-old Arimoto Akihiro, whose daughter Keiko was abducted.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa attended Saturday's event, which coincided with the week designated by the government to raise awareness about human rights abuses by the North Korean regime.
Hayashi, who is in charge of the abduction issue, said it is of the highest priority for the government led by Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, and that it will make an all-out effort as one team to enable the abductees to return to Japan as soon as possible.
He said the Japanese government will continue to seek the backing of the international community, referring to the new US administration led by President-elect Donald Trump which will start next month.
The head of a group of abductees' families, Yokota Takuya, whose sister, Megumi, was abducted when she was a first-year junior high school student, said 22 years have passed since the last Japan-North Korea summit.
He said not a single abductee has come home since the return of five to Japan after the summit, calling North Korea's abductions of Japanese nationals an ongoing human rights issue.
Yokota said the abductees' families have set a deadline so that the abductees' parents can see their children while they are alive.
He urged the government under Ishiba's leadership to stress in the next summit with North Korea that there is no bright future for either country without a resolution of the issue.
Megumi's mother Yokota Sakie said time is passing although so many people, including the prime minister and many other lawmakers and good citizens, are coming together. She said she cannot continue to wait day after day, and asks from the bottom of her heart for an early resolution of the issue.
The Japanese government says at least 17 of its citizens were abducted by North Korean agents, of whom five returned in 2002.
Only two of the remaining 12 abductees' parents are alive: 88-year-old Sakie and 96-year-old Arimoto Akihiro, whose daughter Keiko was abducted.
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Summary
Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea: Families demand immediate rescue at a symposium held by the Japanese government in Tokyo. The event, coinciding with a week dedicated to raising awareness about human rights abuses by the North Korean regime, was attended by Chief Cabinet Secretary
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ID: 5eecdf81-5123-46b9-9f6b-b7df2b4bdf2b
Category ID: nhk
URL: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20241214_18/
Date: Dec. 14, 2024
Created: 2024/12/16 07:00
Updated: 2025/12/08 07:50
Last Read: 2024/12/16 07:42