About 50 relatives and supporters of Japanese believed to have been abducted by Pyongyang agents and taken to North Korea staged a sit-in Monday in front of the Foreign Ministry to protest the government's plan to resume food aid to the Stalinist state.
"We oppose food aid at a time when the abduction issue has been shelved," read one placard at the demonstration, which was relatively calm. "The Foreign Ministry should not succumb to pressure," another sign said.
Foreign Minister Yohei Kono met 10 of the protesters to seek their support for the food aid plan.