Rally Held for Early Return of All Japanese Abductees in N. Korea

Tokyo, May 30 (Jiji Press)–A large-scale rally was held in Tokyo on Saturday to seek the immediate return home of all Japanese abductees in North Korea. Relatives of those abducted to North Korea decades ago said they wish all victims will come back to Japan all at once while their parents are alive. The event, organized by entities such as an association of families of abduction victims, was attended by about 800 people, including Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. “We will never give up,” said Takuya Yokota, 57, head of the association and younger brother of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted in 1977 at the age of 13. He called on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to release all abductees to “chart a bright future for both countries.” “My cheerful and kind daughter disappeared like smoke at the usual corner (of the street),” Megumi’s 90-year-old mother, Sakie, said. “I don’t know anything about her now. Please help me.” Former abductee Hitomi Soga, 67, said, “I cried and cried as I looked up at the sky and the moon (in North Korea).” Soga, a resident of the island city of Sado in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, returned to Japan in October 2022 with four other abductees, following a historic summit between then Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and then North Korean leader Kim Jong Il held in Pyongyang in the preceding month. She and her mother, Miyoshi, were abducted to North Korea in 1978. Miyoshi, who was 46 years old at the time of the abduction, has yet to return to Japan. Hitomi said, “I want my mother never to give up on returning to Sado.” Takaichi said, “It is my duty to have all abduction victims return home as soon as possible.” “I am working hard every day with the determination that the Takaichi administration will resolve the abduction issue,” the prime minister added. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]