10th anniversary of return of 5 abductees from N Korea marked

Monday marked the 10th anniversary of the return of five abductees from North Korea to Japan. But for relatives of 17 Japanese abductees still believed by the government to be in North Korea, it was a bittersweet day.

Some of the relatives held a news conference on Sunday and called on the government to make greater efforts to have the issue resolved within this year, Fuji TV reported.

Ten years ago, then Prime Minister Junichi Koizumi made a landmark visit to Pyongyang for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il. At that meeting, North Korea admitted for the first time that it had abducted Japanese citizens since the late 1970s. A few week later, on Oct 15, 2002, five abductees were allowed to return to Japan.

Sakie Yokota, mother of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted in Niigata in 1978 at the age of 14, said she recalled having mixed feelings seeing the five returnees walk down the steps after arriving at Haneda airport, Fuji reported. She said she kept hoping that Megumi would also emerge from the plane as well and felt despair that only five abductees were allowed to come home.

The abductees urged the government to make greater efforts, arguing that time is running out for many of them who are in their 80s.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told a news conference that the government will do everything in its power to resolve the issue and that it hopes to restart talks with Pyongyang very soon.

© Japan Today