Families demand North Korea return all Japanese abductees
Families of Japanese nationals abducted to North Korea and their supporters held a national rally in Tokyo on Saturday to demand the immediate return of all abductees.
"We really have no time left," a participant said, bearing in mind that Sakie Yokota, 89, the mother of abductee Megumi, has become the only surviving member of the generation of the abductees' parents. Megumi was kidnapped in 1977 when she was 13.
The rally was attended by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
At the beginning of the event, a minute of silence was observed in memory of Akihiro Arimoto, the father of abductee Keiko, who died in February this year. Keiko disappeared in Europe in 1983 when she was 23.
Takuya Yokota, 56, a younger brother of Megumi and head of a group of families of abductees, gave a speech calling for a Japan-North Korea summit.
"We really have no time left. We want the Japanese government to take action so that we can reunite with our family members and siblings who were abducted," he said.
Ishiba emphasized the significance of appealing to the international community to solve the problem.
"We will by all means make a breakthrough. We will make further approaches through various channels," he said, expressing his eagerness to meet directly with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Megumi "disappeared suddenly," her mother recalled, saying that she had "walked along the beach, searching and crying." She asked for support for the resolution of the abduction issue.
The rally, organized mainly by the family group and an organization supporting such families, brought together about 800 people, including lawmakers. During the event, a resolution was adopted requesting the Japanese government and North Korea to realize the immediate return of all abductees.
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