Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said today she has formally requested a face-to-face meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to press for answers and resolution in the decades-old case of Japanese citizens abducted by Pyongyang.
North Korea acknowledged in 2002 that its agents abducted 13 Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s to train operatives in Japanese language and customs. Tokyo says at least 17 people were taken; other estimates suggest the true number could be higher. In 2002 and 2004, former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi visited Pyongyang and secured the return of five victims, while North Korea said eight others had died.
Speaking at an awareness event in Tokyo, Takaichi reiterated that resolving the abduction issue is a top priority for her cabinet and for Japan’s national sovereignty. “In order to build a new, fruitful relation between Japan and North Korea, I am resolved to meet face-to-face with Chairman Kim Jong Un,” she said, adding she would “use any means necessary” to pursue the matter.
Pyongyang has not issued a public response to Takaichi’s request. Previous Japanese efforts to secure direct talks with the North have repeatedly stalled. Takaichi’s predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba, once proposed liaison offices in Tokyo and Pyongyang to facilitate progress, an idea that never materialized. Japan has also worked with international partners — notably the United States — to keep global attention on the abductions.
The request marks the latest attempt by Tokyo to bring long-running pain and unanswered questions into the diplomatic spotlight. For families waiting decades for information, the announcement will reopen old wounds and, at the same time, offer a sliver of renewed hope that the truth might finally be pressed from Pyongyang.
