He worked tirelessly to get her back. Yokota became the leader of a group of families of Japanese nationals abducted by the North, and traveled across Japan holding petition campaigns and giving speeches.

He was hospitalized in April 2018 and died last Friday. He was 87.

Yokota's widow Sakie and twin sons Takuya and Tetsuya held a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday, a day after his funeral.

Sakie said her husband was calm and smiled throughout his long illness. She said he understood the difficulty of resolving the abductions issue, but probably had no regrets because he gave it his all.

She said he looked at peace as he passed away. She also thanked everyone who offered them support.

Takuya recalled that at first they were clueless about Megumi's whereabouts. He said he knows how much his father loved Megumi and wanted to see her. He vowed to resolve the issue no matter what.

Tetsuya said the family is full of anger and regret that his father died while the abductions issue remains unsolved.

He said he will carry on his father's efforts, and that it will be his duty to report Megumi's return at his father's grave.