Yokota's Mom Laments Death of Japanese Abductee's Father

   Kawasaki, Kanagawa Pref., Feb. 17 (Jiji Press)--Sakie Yokota, the mother of Megumi Yokota, a Japanese abductee to North Korea, mourned on Monday the recent death of Akihiro Arimoto, the father of another abductee Keiko Arimoto.
   Keiko's return to Japan "could not be achieved in time," Sakie, 89, told a press conference in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. "I hoped they could see each other."
   Akihiro's death at the age of 96 makes Sakie the only living parent of an abductee. "I'm now alone," she said.
   She recalled how Akihiro worked hard with his wife, Kayoko, who died at 94 in February 2020, to bring abductees back to Japan.
   "They worked so hard, but they could not meet her," Sakie said. "Why has there been so little progress (over the abduction issue)?"

(2025/02/17-19:37)

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