The younger brother of Megumi Yokota, an iconic victim among Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea decades ago, welcomed the outcome of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's first summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Friday.
Takuya Yokota, 56, said in a statement, "It was good that the need to resolve the abduction issue was expressed and the U.S. support was gained, and that Japan and the United States were able to join forces against North Korea's human rights violations."
He added it is "important" for the parents to be reunited with the victims on "Japanese soil while they are still alive," after Ishiba told reporters he had obtained Trump's backing to resolve the abduction issue.
Sakie Yokota, the 89-year-old mother of Megumi, also said, "I thought Mr Ishiba was making the best efforts he could" during his summit with Trump. "I don't know how much the United States has talked about the abduction issue, but I hope it did."
Megumi was abducted at age 13 by North Korean agents in Niigata Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast in 1977 while returning home from badminton practice at her junior high school.
North Korea asserts that the abduction issue has already been resolved.
© KYODO
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