Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Katsunobu has recorded a radio message for Japanese abductees in North Korea. He pledged that the government will spare no effort to bring them home as soon as possible.
Kato, who also serves as abductions issue minister, recorded the message on Monday. It will be aired by a group investigating the whereabouts of hundreds of missing people possibly abducted by North Korea.
The mother of a Japanese woman abducted by North Korea has urged Japan's government to resolve the abduction issue through dialogue between the leaders of the two countries.
Yokota Sakie made the appeal at a news conference ahead of the 43rd anniversary of the abduction of her daughter, Megumi, on Sunday. She was kidnapped on her way home from a junior high school. Megumi turned 56 last month.
Relatives of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea have commented on Joe Biden's victory in the US presidential election.
Eighty-two-year-old Iizuka Shigeo, whose sister Taguchi Yaeko was abducted by the North, said the relatives have met President Donald Trump and two former US presidents, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and sought their help in resolving the issue.
Relatives of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea and government officials took part in a memorial service on Saturday for Yokota Shigeru who passed in June. He was the father of abductee Yokota Megumi.
A large sign carrying a message that read "Thank you, Mr. Yokota Shigeru" was raised at the venue in central Tokyo.
The mother of a Japanese woman who was abducted by North Korea 43 years ago is celebrating her daughter's birthday, wishing for her return.
Yokota Megumi was snatched in 1977 on her way home from junior high school. She was 13 years old.
Families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea have urged the new leader of the governing Liberal Democratic Party, Suga Yoshihide, to make progress in resolving the issue.
Some of the relatives spoke to the media after Suga was elected LDP president on Monday. He is most likely to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Abe Shinzo this week.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide has pledged efforts to bring home nationals abducted by North Korea in response to the desperate wishes of their families.
Suga and a group of prefectural governors seeking to rescue the abductees met at the prime minister's office on Tuesday.
Relatives of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea have strongly urged the Japanese government to take measures to repatriate their loved ones as soon as possible.
The relatives, including Shigeo Iizuka and Akihiro Arimoto, met Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Friday.
A film about Japanese people abducted by North Korea and the abductees' family members is set to be produced.
The film will deal with the abductees who have not returned to Japan. Megumi Yokota is one. She was abducted when she was a junior high school student.
Relatives of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea and their supporters have mourned the death of the mother of abductee Keiko Arimoto.
Kayoko Arimoto died at the age of 94 on Monday.
The family of a Japanese woman who was abducted by North Korea decades ago has celebrated her 60th birthday without her.
Keiko Arimoto was 23 when she was abducted in 1983 while traveling in Europe after completing a study program in London.
Two elderly sisters of a Japanese woman abducted to North Korea nearly 40 years ago have called for her early return to Japan.
Keiko Arimoto was abducted by North Korean agents while she was traveling in Europe after she completed a study program in London in 1983. She was 23 years old. She turns 60 on Sunday.