Japanese nationals who were forcibly taken to North Korea and eventually repatriated have called for the swift return of other abductees still held by Pyongyang.
Hasuike Kaoru and Soga Hitomi spoke at a meeting to highlight the abductee issue on Saturday in Saitama City north of Tokyo.
This month marks the 23rd anniversary of the first Japan-North Korea summit at which the North admitted having abducted Japanese nationals.
That led to the return of Hasuike, Soga and three other victims in late 2002. The two had been abducted in Niigata Prefecture in 1978.
There are others who remain unaccounted for. The Japanese government recognizes 12 people as having been abducted by North Korea.
Speaking at Saturday’s meeting, Hasuike referred to abductee Yokota Megumi’s 89-year-old mother, Sakie. She is now the only surviving parent of one of the 12 people recognized as victims by the government.
Hasuike said that North Korea takes a long-term view since there is no question of a change of government. But he said Japan must not accept the North’s stance if Pyongyang plans to wait to address the abduction issue after all the Japanese victims’ parents and their contemporaries have died and Japanese public opinion has become more muted.
Hasuike said the Japanese public should be made more aware of the urgency of the issue, and now is the time to push for a resolution without delay.
Soga spoke about her 93-year-old mother, Miyoshi, who was abducted with her daughter but has been unable to return to Japan.
Soga said the abduction deprived them of all their hopes and dreams and she will not be able to forgive the crime as long as she lives. She said she wants to get her mother back and spend the last period of her life with her, even if it is very short.
After the meeting, Hasuike said he questions how seriously the Japanese government takes its role as concerned party in the abduction issue.
He said even though government officials say they will do everything they can to resolve the problem, they have failed to present any concrete steps so far.
He urged the government to clearly show victims’ families and the wider population what it can do.
Soga said her only wish is that all the abductees will return to their families as soon as possible.