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February 23, 2025
 

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ABDUCTIONS

Akihiro Arimoto (left), accompanied by his wife, Kayoko, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in 2002. Arimoto, the father of a girl who was spirited away to North Korea more than four decades ago and remains unaccounted for, died late Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2025
Akihiro Arimoto, father of girl abducted by North Korea in 1983, dies
His death at the age of 96 is a sign of how long the issue has dragged on, with most parents of abductees having now died without finding out what happened to their loved ones.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba raised North Korea's past abduction of Japanese nationals during his first face-to-face meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington on Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2025
Head of abductees' families relieved over Japan-U.S. talks
Takuya Yokota, 56, is a brother of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted by North Korea in 1977 when she was just 13 years old.
Sakie Yokota speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Jan. 10 after meeting with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi.
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2025
Abductee families seek pressure on North Korea as Trump returns
A leader of a group of North Korean abductee families called on the government to deepen the bond between their leaders.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks with students from Okayama University about the issue of North Korea's abductions of Japanese citizens decades ago, in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 14, 2024
Japan ready to team up with Trump over North Korea abduction issue
In a symposium on the issue held by the Japanese government in Tokyo, Hayashi condemned North Korea, saying, "In essence, it is an infringement of national sovereignty."
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks on Saturday in Tokyo at a rally that was held by a group of families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea decades ago to demand the immediate return of all abductees.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 24, 2024
Ishiba shelves proposal for liaison offices with North Korea amid rising tensions
The Prime Minister has expressed his commitment to resolving the abduction issue, as well as his willingness to hold talks with Kim Jong Un.
Sakie Yokota, 88, speaks during a news conference in Kawasaki on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2024
Mother of North Korea abductee laments lack of progress over issue
"I wonder why this issue has dragged on so long," said 88-year-old Sakie Yokota. Her daughter, Megumi Yokota, went missing 47 years ago.
Toshiyuki Mimaki, director of Hiroshima Hidankyo and a co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo, hopes the U.S. will strive for a world free of nuclear weapons.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 7, 2024
With Trump’s return, Japanese advocacy groups seek renewed U.S. support
Groups representing atomic bomb survivors and the families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea hope the new administration will back their causes.
Sakie Yokota, the mother of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted by North Korean agents decades ago, meets with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Tokyo Thursday.
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2024
Ishiba meets families of North Korean abductees for first time as PM
The prime minister expressed a willingness to hold talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to resolve the abductions.
Sakie Yokota shares her thoughts ahead of her abducted daughter's 60th birthday, on Thursday in Kawasaki.
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2024
Sakie Yokota expresses hopes for a reunion on daughter's 60th birthday
Megumi Yokota was abducted by North Korea in 1977 at the age of 13. If a reunion is realized, "I just hope to hug her silently," Sakie said.
Takuya Yokota, who leads the Association of Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea, speaks during an event to spread awareness of the abduction issue among junior high school students on Aug. 9 in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 12, 2024
Government ramps up efforts to raise awareness on North Korean abductions
There are concerns that the issue, which has dragged on for decades, is slipping from the public’s awareness, particularly among younger generations.
Then U.S. President Donald Trump meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, in Panmunjom, South Korea, on June 30, 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 1, 2024
North Korea wants to restart nuclear talks if Trump wins, says ex-diplomat
The former diplomat said North Korea has also set Russia, the U.S. and Japan as its top foreign policy priorities.
Members of a group representing family members of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea hold a news conference in Washington on Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 1, 2024
'No objection' from U.S. to Japan ending sanctions if abductees return
The head of an abductees family group said he wanted Tokyo to carry out "strong diplomatic negotiations behind closed doors."
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield poses for a photo with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi and the families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s, on Thursday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 18, 2024
U.S. envoy to U.N. uses Japan visit to bolster U.N. Security Council
“The Security Council of 70 years ago does not reflect the realities of today,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his sister, Kim Yo Jong
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 9, 2024
Kishida-Kim summit unlikely to happen soon, Japan envoy to U.S. says
Shigeo Yamada said recent statements from North Korea indicate they aren't ready to deal with "outstanding issues of concern" with Japan.
Takuya Yokota, the representative of the Association of Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea, gives a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 5, 2024
Relatives of Japanese abducted by North Korea hope Kishida raises issue in U.S.
Takuya Yokota, who represents a group of family members of abductees, said the matter is a human rights and humanitarian issue.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 3, 2024
Tokyo police confirm death of North Korea abduction suspect
Kim Kil Uk, was on the international wanted list for the June 1980 abduction of Tadaaki Hara.
Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae attend the opening ceremony of the Gangdong Greenhouse in North Korea in this picture released on March 16.
JAPAN / Politics / EXPLAINER
Mar 27, 2024
North Korea reaches for familiar playbook in talks with Japan
Pyongyang blowing hot and cold on a potential leaders summit is meant to gain the upper hand in negotiations to realize such a meeting.
Kim Yo Jong, who serves as a top adviser to her brother, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said Tuesday that Pyongyang had ruled out holding a leaders' summit with Japan.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 26, 2024
North Korea rules out summit with Japan and rejects more talks
The sister of leader Kim Jong Un said that a meeting was not of interest to the North, alluding to Tokyo's unyielding stance on the abductions issue.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister said Monday that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has requested a summit with her brother, hinting that any meeting was unlikely without a policy shift by Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 25, 2024
Japan reaching out to North Korea for Kim-Kishida summit
The sister of leader Kim Jong Un said any summit would hinge on whether Japan was willing to make a "political decision" — likely on the abductee issue.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 26, 2024
Families of North Korea abductees give Japan breathing room for summit
The group won't oppose Tokyo's lifting of sanctions on Pyongyang if all abductees are returned while their parents' generation is still alive.
Japan's Prince Hisahito to hold first news conference on March 3
Prince Hisahito heads to greet the Emperor and Empress on the occasion of his 18th birthday in Tokyo on Sep. 6.
Tokyo fund buys China bonds for first time on Japanification bet
Japanese investors are estimated to have increased holdings of Chinese bonds by 53% last year, the most among the markets that make up the World Government Bond Index, according to Bloomberg analysis of Japanese balance-of-payments data.
Ukraine promises swift deal for minerals as Trump cuts Kyiv out of peace talks
A truck carrying partially-refined titanium ore to a factory for further refining at a mine east of Kyiv.
U.S. Marines start to leave Japan, decades behind schedule
U.S. Marines during training in Okinawa last month.
Special website created 30 years after Tokyo subway sarin attack
Ahead of the 30th anniversary of the 1995 sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system by Aum Shinrikyo, the Public Security Intelligence Agency launched a special website Friday.
As Ukraine rift emerges, Kyiv's envoy says Japan must take on bigger global role
Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky speaks during an interview at the Ukrainian Embassy in Tokyo on Monday.
Japan release of Shiori Ito's documentary in limbo
Shiori Ito, who won a civil suit over a rape case against a TV reporter, in 2018. Her former lawyers claim her documentary includes footage used without the consent of sources.
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Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (center) runs during a 100-meter heat at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 3, 2024.
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Newly promoted grand champion Hoshoryu (center) performs a dedication ceremony at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo on Jan. 31.

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