Japanese Abductee Families Agree to Ease Stance on North Korea

(MENAFN) Families of Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korea have agreed to relax their previously uncompromising position toward the regime, on the condition that the Japanese government successfully secures the return of every victim, according to reports.

At a joint meeting in Tokyo on Sunday, groups representing the relatives of abductees, along with their supporters, approved a policy that does not oppose Japan providing humanitarian aid to North Korea, lifting its unilateral sanctions, or initiating diplomatic normalization talks with Pyongyang, as part of efforts to ensure all victims are returned.

The Association of Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea and the National Association for the Rescue of Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea also decided they would no longer request personal information from returned abductees beyond updates about other missing victims.

Urging the administration of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to accelerate negotiations with Pyongyang, Takuya Yokota—the 57-year-old younger brother of Megumi Yokota, who was taken by North Korean agents in 1977 at age 13—described the group’s move as a “painful decision” during a press conference.

“Although our grudge toward North Korea is ever-growing, we've concluded that a dialogue phase already started several years ago,” said the head of the families’ organization. “I hope a dream I saw last night about my sister returning home comes true.”

Japan officially recognizes 17 individuals as having been abducted in the 1970s and 1980s by North Korea. Five were repatriated in October 2002 following landmark talks in Pyongyang between the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and then-Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

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