The Japanese government has posted a new video series describing how and why North Korea abducted Japanese citizens, in an effort to draw more interest about the issue from young people.
The government’s task force on the abduction issue released the videos on its official YouTube channel on Saturday.
The task force produced the videos as the victims and their relatives are advancing in age, decades after the first recognized abduction case occurred.
The government says North Korea abducted at least 17 Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s. Five returned home after a bilateral summit in 2002. The other 12 remain unaccounted for.
The series consists of five parts, each about six to nine minutes long. Designed as a drama, the videos feature a university student who learns about the abduction issue through a part-time production job at a television station.
In addition to depicting how the abductions happened, the footage explains their alleged purposes. It says Pyongyang is believed to have intended to use the identification documents of Japanese nationals for international spy activities, and to have the abductees teach the Japanese language and customs to North Korean agents.
Regarding the North’s declaration that several abductees are dead, the videos raise questions about the credibility of such claims.
Pyongyang turned over to Japan what it claimed were the remains of two abductees — Yokota Megumi and Matsuki Kaoru. The videos explain that DNA analysis indicated these remains were not theirs, and that no objective evidence has been presented.