Japan is understandably upset over past abductions of its citizens by North Korea. But rightwing pressure has made a solution almost impossible. It is a good example of how emotional nationalism and Tokyo's manipulations can damage sensible foreign policies.

At first Tokyo seemed to realize North Korea's difficulties in admitting the abductions. But a 1999 plan to have the abductees emerge in a third country was aborted when details were leaked to the flighty Japanese media. Fortunately, some intense negotiations by intermediaries allowed both sides to save face, with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi making his path-building visit to Pyongyang in September 2002 and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il, admitting in exchange that there had indeed been abductions -- 13 in all. Eight were said to have died, but the five survivors could visit Japan briefly, provided they returned to North Korea and their families afterward.

It was here that things began to go downhill. Hardliners in Japan wanted to know why so many abductees had died. When the five abductees arrived in Japan, Koizumi's right-leaning party secretary general, Shinzo Abe, immediately began to insist not only that they could not return to North Korea, but also that their non-Japanese speaking families should be sent to Japan.