WASHINGTON—In their first meeting with a senior official of the second Trump administration, families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea found a receptive ear as they asked for support in bringing their loved ones home.
Members of the Association of Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea met with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau here on April 29.
Landau “reaffirmed U.S. support for Japan” in achieving an immediate resolution of the long-standing abduction issue, according to the U.S. State Department.
Family members, whose relatives were abducted by North Korean agents during the 1970s and 1980s, emphasized that time is running out because association members are in their advanced ages, Koichiro Iizuka, secretary-general of the group, told reporters.
They urged U.S. President Donald Trump to raise the abduction issue “without fail” if he sits down for another summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump, who met with Kim three times during his first administration, has expressed his willingness to hold direct talks with the North Korean leader.
Iizuka, son of abductee Yaeko Taguchi, said the meeting was encouraging and that the delegation will continue calling for U.S. support on the abduction issue during the trip.
The family members were accompanied by Japanese lawmakers from the Committee of Congressional Members to Act for the Early Rescue of Japanese Victims Abducted by North Korea.
Takuya Yokota, head of the families’ association, said he believes that the need to resolve the abduction issue has been “drummed into the heart” of Trump, who met with abductees’ families during his first administration.
Yokota, brother of abductee Megumi Yokota, told reporters that now is a crucial time for Japan and the United States to concentrate their efforts on returning the aging abductees.
Akihiro Arimoto, father of abductee Keiko Arimoto, died in February at the age of 96, and family members were carrying a photograph of Keiko.
Landau offered his condolences to the family of Arimoto, who was unable to reunite with his daughter, according to the State Department.
Arimoto’s death left Sakie Yokota, 89, mother of Megumi Yokota, as the only surviving parent of a North Korean abductee among members of the families’ association.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was originally scheduled to receive the delegation but called off the appointment immediately prior to the meeting.
Members of the families’ association and the parliamentarians’ group also talked with Mark Takano, a House member from the Democratic Party, on April 29.
During the trip through May 4, the delegation is expected to meet with Bill Hagerty, a senator from the Republican Party and U.S. ambassador to Japan during the first Trump administration.