Takuya Yokota, who heads a group of families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea decades ago, urged the Japanese government Tuesday to work with the United States to press the reclusive state to return the abductees.
Yokota, 56, made the request in a statement released following the inauguration of Donald Trump as U.S. president. His older sister, Megumi, was abducted when she was 13.
In the statement, Yokota also called on the government to build a relationship of trust with the U.S. and deepen the bond between their leaders.
Sakie Yokota, the 88-year-old mother of Takuya and Megumi, said in a separate statement that she is very worried that she may not be able to see her daughter again.
Referring to Trump's meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his previous term, she asked Trump to help bring back the abductees by appealing to Kim.
In an online news conference on Monday, meanwhile, Terumi Tanaka, 92, co-chair of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, or Nihon Hidankyo, which won the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, expressed concern about the impact of Trump's return to the White House on nuclear disarmament efforts.
"There is a risk that Mr. Trump will come up with policies without proper consideration," Tanaka said. "We have to analyze them one by one and respond appropriately."
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