Japan Calls for Abductees' Immediate Return at U.N. Symposium

   New York, June 26 (Jiji Press)--Japan called for an immediate return home of all Japanese citizens abducted to North Korea at an online U.N. symposium on Thursday.
   "We can't waste any time," Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japanese minister in charge of the abduction issue, said in a keynote speech as families of abductees have been aging.
   Takuya Yokota, the younger brother of Megumi, who was kidnapped to North Korea in 1977 when she was 13 years old, urged Pyongyang to release all abductees immediately.
   "We hope that a bold decision will be made so that (Japan and North Korea) can draw a bright future," said Takuya, head of the Japanese Association of Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea.
   Only Sakie Yokota, the 89-year-old mother of Megumi, is alive among the parents of Japanese abductees.

(2025/06/27-10:31)