Niigata, Nov. 14 (Jiji Press)–A rally was held in the central Japan city of Niigata on Saturday, a day ahead of the 49th anniversary of a then 13-year-old Japanese girl being abducted to North Korea. Participants called for stepped-up efforts to realize an immediate return home of Megumi Yokota, who was kidnapped from the capital of Niigata Prefecture on Nov. 15, 1977, when she was a junior high school student. Her mother, Sakie, who attended the gathering online, said, “Although I can’t push myself because I’m 90 years old now, I’m doing my best, praying for a reunion (with my daughter) while I’m fine.” About 700 people attended the rally. Takuya Yokota, 58, Megumi’s younger brother and head of the Association of Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea, said, “In my memory, Megumi still remains 13 years old, so I can’t imagine what she looks like now at the age of 62.” He called on the Japanese government to realize a summit with North Korea to resolve the issue of Japanese nationals who were abducted to the reclusive nation decades ago, including Megumi. Also among the participants was former abductee Hitomi Soga, 67, who returned to Japan from North Korea with four other abduction victims in October 2022 following a historic summit between then Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and then North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang in September the same year. Soga was kidnapped to North Korea in 1978 with her mother, Miyoshi, then 46. Miyoshi’s whereabouts remain unknown. “It’s painful that I can’t do anything as a daughter,” Soga said of her mother. “Let me take care of my mother again.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
