Japanese abductees' relatives head to Washington seeking support
The relatives are Yokota Takuya, who leads the group of abductees' families, and Iizuka Koichiro.
Yokota is the younger brother of Yokota Megumi, who was kidnapped by North Korean agents at the age of 13.
Iizuka's mother Taguchi Yaeko was abducted by the North when he was one-year-old.
The two plan to meet US government officials and lawmakers of both chambers of Congress while they stay in Washington until May 3.
The Japanese government has so far recognized 17 citizens as having been abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s. Five returned home following a bilateral summit in 2002, but the other 12 are still unaccounted for.
Arimoto Akihiro, whose daughter Keiko was abducted and has not returned, died in February at the age of 96. The mother of Yokota Megumi, 89-year-old Yokota Sakie, is now the only surviving parent of the remaining 12 victims.
In 2018 during his first term, US President Donald Trump raised the issue of abduction when he met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the first-ever US-North Korea summit.
The abductees' families are asking senior US government officials to support their efforts to bring their loved ones back to Japan as early as possible.
They also want the US president to emphasize the need to resolve the issue if he holds another summit meeting with the North Korean leader.
Before departing from Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Tuesday morning, Yokota said that the group wants abduction victims to return home as soon as possible within a limited time period.
He said that he wants important US figures to understand that time is running out, and that Japan and the US need to address the issue together.
Iizuka said that he is grateful for opportunities to meet and talk about the issue with leading US lawmakers as the relatives need strong US backing to rescue their family members. He said that he wants to make a strong appeal.
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