Families of Japanese abducted by North Korea call for Trump's support
KYODO NEWS - 6 hours ago - 11:36 | All, Japan, World
The families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea decades ago called Wednesday for the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to help bring their loved ones home.
After meeting with U.S. officials and legislators in Washington, the families held a press conference to make a public appeal, stressing how little time there is left and voicing hope Trump himself will become actively involved in the abduction issue.
Takuya Yokota, who heads a group representing the families, said he has not given up hope in the promise Trump made during his first presidency to work toward an immediate resolution of the issue.
The group met officials including Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, Trump's deputy national security aide Alex Wong, a former diplomat who handled U.S. talks with North Korea during his first term, and Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty, a former ambassador to Tokyo.
A bipartisan group of U.S. legislators sent a letter in early April to Trump asking him to prioritize in his dealings with North Korea the immediate return of Japanese nationals abducted in the 1970s and 1980s.
The group praised Trump for bringing the issue into the international spotlight in his address to the U.N. General Assembly in 2017.
The families were joined on their trip by Japanese lawmakers, including Keiji Furuya, a former chief of Japan's National Public Safety Commission.
Yokota's sister Megumi, who has become the issue's symbolic figure, was abducted on her way home from school in 1977 at age 13.
Among 17 nationals Japan officially lists as having been abducted by North Korea, five have been returned. Japan also suspects North Korea's involvement in many other disappearances.
Related coverage:
Families of Japanese abducted by N. Korea to seek U.S. aid for return
North Korea confirms troop deployment to Russia under bilateral pact
Father of woman abducted by North Korea dies at 96 without reunion
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