OSAKA -- On Tuesday, six months will have passed since the five Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in 1978 returned home, an event that most Japanese media rated the No. 1 news story of 2002.
Since then, the abduction issue has gradually receded into the background as the media focuses on issues such as the war in Iraq and North Korea's possible nuclear weapons program. Also leading to reduced coverage were comments from the five -- Kaoru and Yukiko Hasuike, Yasushi and Fukie Chimura and Hitomi Soga -- that they plan to live in Japan permanently. Some have even begun to work.
But some observers say that ongoing tensions between the families and the Japanese media may be another factor.