Ever since the five Japanese who were kidnapped by North Korea in the late '70s returned to Japan a little less than a year ago, the media, the government, the abductees' families and supporters, and the abductees themselves have been performing an elaborate and awkward dance.
Everyone says they want the same things, namely, that the families of the five abductees be allowed to leave North Korea and that the communist state account for all the Japanese they abducted. However, each party has other agendas that complicate these shared ones. Separating them has been a difficult and delicate task.
To mark the first anniversary of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's summit with Kim Jong Il in September 2002, when the North Korean leader admitted to the kidnappings, the major TV networks and NHK have been broadcasting special programs that summarize the issue. Very little of the information has been new, but it's been concise and each station has presented a different angle.
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