A symposium was held in Tokyo to resolve the abduction issue by North Korea, and the families of the victims who participated called for a Japan-North Korea summit meeting to be held in order to bring all the victims home, saying that the aging of the parent generation waiting for their return to Japan was progressing and that "there is not much time left."
The symposium was held by the government to coincide with Awareness Week on the issue of human rights violations in North Korea, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi, who was appointed minister in charge of the abduction issue on the 14th, also attended.
Among them, Takuya, the younger brother of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted 46 years ago and a representative of the victim's family association, said, "My mother, Sakie, is now 87 years old and cannot hide her physical deterioration. I am fighting with a single-minded desire to reunite with my family and children."
He also called on the Japan government to hold a Japan-North Korea summit meeting as soon as possible so that all the abductees can return to their Japan and be reunited with their families.
Koichiro Iizuka, whose mother Yaeko Taguchi was abducted when she was one year old, said, "I think the abductees just feel lonely, think of their children, and just remember and live in Japan. General Secretary Kim Jong-un should make a decision on the immediate and collective return of all abductees. The time for a real solution is now and now."
Regarding the abductions issue, Prime Minister Kishida has indicated that he wants to start high-level talks under his direct control in order to realize the Japan-North Korea summit meeting, but there has been no visible movement so far, and there is growing impatience among families that there is not much time left.
After the symposium, Takuya said, "What we are asking for is to bring back the victims while their parents' generation is still alive, and I hope that both the Japan and North Korean governments will sincerely accept that this is a time-sensitive issue."