20 - Year Anniversary Of Abductees Returning To Japan
Saturday marks 20 years since five Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea returned to Japan. At least 12 other abductees are yet to return home.
Hasuike Kaoru, Hasuike Yukiko, Chimura Yasushi, Chimura Fukie and Soga Hitomi were taken to North Korea in 1978 and spent 24 years there. They arrived back in Japan on October 15, 2002, following a historic Japan-North Korea summit where North Korea's then-leader Kim Jong Il admitted to the abductions.
After returning to Japan, the five have been striving to rebuild their lives but say they feel a deep sense of frustration as other abductees, including the 12 officially recognized by the Japanese government, remain stranded in North Korea.
Soga, whose mother Miyoshi was abducted with her but remains unaccounted for, revealed her frustration in a talk last month. She said her heart aches whenever she thinks of her mother and wonders if she has been able to survive the winter and is well fed.
Hasuike Kaoru, now an associate professor at Niigata Sangyo University, is touring the country to ask the public to help resolve the abduction issue.
Chimura Yasushi retired from a job at Obama City Hall in Fukui Prefecture six years ago and now organizes a petition to call for an early resolution of the issue.
It has been 45 years since the first abduction occurred. Some of the abductees' relatives have passed away in recent years without being reunited with their loved ones.