Japan Sees Abductions by North Korea as “Ongoing” Issue

Tokyo, Aug. 7 (Jiji Press)–Abductions of Japanese citizens by North Korea decades ago are not an issue of the past but an “ongoing” matter, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Friday. Speaking at a meeting with junior high school students in Tokyo, Kihara expressed hopes that young generations will disseminate information about the issue. The government hosted the meeting, the fourth of its kind, as part of its efforts to raise awareness about the abduction issue. The event was joined by 67 junior high school students from across the country. “My older sister was abducted at about the same age as yours,” Takuya Yokota, head of a group of abductees’ families, said in a speech at the meeting. Yokota’s sister, Megumi, was kidnapped to North Korea in 1977. She was then 13 years old. Yokota called on meeting participants to think about the abduction issue as one of their own and sought support for the fight to bring back abductees. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]