Five Japanese snatched by North Korea in the 1970s and repatriated to Japan 20 years ago Saturday expressed their desire that the other abductees would return soon.
"Over the past 20 years, Ms. Megumi, my mother and the (other) victims of abduction have always been in the corner of my mind," Hitomi Soga said in the Sea of Japan coastal city of Niigata. "I want to work harder than ever and do my best for all of them."
Yasushi Chimura, 67, one of the five who held a press conference in his hometown in the central Japan prefecture of Fukui, said that "the victims are aging. If we do not rescue them now, it will be difficult to bring them back alive."
He added, "20 years have passed since the return, but the abduction issue has not been resolved. It cannot be treated as a milestone or anniversary."
Soga made the remarks at a charity concert organized by classmates of Megumi Yokota, who disappeared on her way home from school in the city on Nov. 15, 1977, at the age of 13. Yokota remains a symbolic figure in the issue of North Korea's abductions of Japanese nationals decades ago.
"In the next concert, I want to join hands with Ms. Megumi and sing in a loud chorus," Soga said at the event, which was timed with the day that marked 20 years since the five returned to Japan after negotiations between Tokyo and Pyongyang.
Recalling when Soga met Yokota in North Korea, the 63-year-old said she had said "hello to me, and I almost shouted out loud that she was Japanese. I was really happy. Her smile was so beautiful."
Soga, who North Korean agents abducted in 1978 with her mother Miyoshi, then 46, from Sado, Niigata Prefecture, said she hopes Yokota stays healthy and never gives up on returning to Japan.
Yokota's 86-year-old mother, Sakie, told attendees of the charity concert by phone, "I want all to work together to make sure that justice prevails."
Japan officially lists 17 nationals as having been abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s but suspects its agents were involved in many more disappearances. Only five of the 17 were repatriated on Oct. 15, 2002, and since then, no tangible progress has been seen on the abduction issue.
Of the remaining 12, North Korea claims that eight, including Yokota, have died, and the four others never entered the country.
Kaoru Hasuike and his wife Yukiko, who also returned home 20 years ago from North Korea, said in a statement, "We sincerely hope that the government will take drastic steps to break through the current situation so that the abductees will be able to return to Japan and be reunited with their parents and children."
"We will also do our utmost to make this happen," the couple said.
