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Abductees' families hold rally

Takuya Yokota, head of a group representing the families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea decades ago, speaks during a rally in Tokyo on May 24, 2025, holding a picture of abductee Keiko Arimoto whose father Akihiro died in February at age 96. Yokota's sister, Megumi, was abducted by North Korea in 1977 aged 13.

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[Breaking News]Mother of Japanese abductee

KAWASAKI, Japan, Feb. 18 Kyodo - Sakie Yokota, 89, whose daughter Megumi was abducted by North Korea in 1977 at age 13, speaks to reporters in Kawasaki, near Tokyo, on Feb. 17, 2025, following the death of Akihiro Arimoto, whose daughter Keiko was taken to North Korea in 1983 at age 23. Arimoto's family said the same day that he had died of natural causes aged 96, leaving Yokota as the only surviving parent of an individual listed by Japan as having been abducted by North Korea. (Kyodo)

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Mother of Japanese abductee

Sakie Yokota, 89, whose daughter Megumi was abducted by North Korea in 1977 at age 13, speaks to reporters in Kawasaki, near Tokyo, on Feb. 17, 2025, following the death of Akihiro Arimoto, whose daughter Keiko was taken to North Korea in 1983 at age 23. Arimoto's family said the same day that he had died of natural causes aged 96, leaving Yokota as the only surviving parent of an individual listed by Japan as having been abducted by North Korea.

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Father of woman abducted by N. Korea dies at 96 without reunion

Akihiro Arimoto, whose daughter Keiko was taken to North Korea in 1983 at age 23, is pictured during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the premier's office in Tokyo on Oct. 17, 2024. Arimoto, who strenuously fought for her return and that of the other abductees, died of natural causes aged 96 at his home in Kobe, western Japan, without seeing her, his family said on Feb. 17, 2025.

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Father of woman abducted by N. Korea dies at 96 without reunion

Akihiro Arimoto, whose daughter Keiko was taken to North Korea in 1983 at age 23, celebrates her 60th birthday at their home in Kobe, western Japan, on Jan. 12, 2020, with a birthday cake in front of her photo. Arimoto, who strenuously fought for her return and that of the other abductees, died of natural causes aged 96 without seeing her, his family said on Feb. 17, 2025.

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Father of woman abducted by N. Korea dies at 96 without reunion

Akihiro Arimoto (R), whose daughter Keiko was taken to North Korea in 1983 at age 23, and Sakie Yokota, 89, whose daughter Megumi was abducted by North Korea in 1977 at age 13, attend a meeting in Tokyo on Aug. 2, 2023. Arimoto had died of natural causes aged 96 without seeing his daughter, his family said on Feb. 17, 2025, leaving Yokota as the only surviving parent of an individual listed by Japan as having been abducted by North Korea. (Pool photo)

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Mother of Japanese abductee

Sakie Yokota, 89, whose daughter Megumi was abducted by North Korea in 1977 at age 13, speaks to reporters in Kawasaki, near Tokyo, on Feb. 17, 2025, following the death of Akihiro Arimoto, whose daughter Keiko was taken to North Korea in 1983 at age 23. Arimoto's family said the same day that he had died of natural causes aged 96, leaving Yokota as the only surviving parent of an individual listed by Japan as having been abducted by North Korea.

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Mother of Japanese abductee

Sakie Yokota, 89, whose daughter Megumi was abducted by North Korea in 1977 at age 13, speaks to reporters in Kawasaki, near Tokyo, on Feb. 17, 2025, following the death of Akihiro Arimoto, whose daughter Keiko was taken to North Korea in 1983 at age 23. Arimoto's family said the same day that he had died of natural causes aged 96, leaving Yokota as the only surviving parent of an individual listed by Japan as having been abducted by North Korea.

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Mother of Japanese abductee

Sakie Yokota, 89, whose daughter Megumi was abducted by North Korea in 1977 at age 13, speaks to reporters in Kawasaki, near Tokyo, on Feb. 17, 2025, following the death of Akihiro Arimoto, whose daughter Keiko was taken to North Korea in 1983 at age 23. Arimoto's family said the same day that he had died of natural causes aged 96, leaving Yokota as the only surviving parent of an individual listed by Japan as having been abducted by North Korea.

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Father of woman abducted by N. Korea dies at 96 without reunion

Photo taken on Aug. 23, 2022, shows Akihiro Arimoto, whose daughter Keiko was abducted by North Korea in 1983. A group supporting the families of Japanese abductees said on Feb. 17, 2025, that Arimoto had died of natural causes.

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Photo exhibition held in Tokyo on iconic N. Korea abductee

A photo exhibition on Megumi Yokota, who has become a symbol of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea decades ago, is held at the Nihombashi Takashimaya department store gallery in Tokyo on Aug. 2, 2023. Her mother Sakie (R) and Akihiro Arimoto, father of Keiko among the abductees, visit the exhibition. (Pool photo)

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Kin of N. Korea's abduction victims call for early rescue

TOKYO, Japan - Families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korean agents call for their prompt rescue at a rally in Tokyo on April 27, 2014. On the stage are (from L) Teruaki Masumoto, Kayoko Arimoto, Sakie Yokota and her husband Shigeru, and Shigeo Iizuka.

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Journalist Tahara outside of court

KOBE, Japan - Journalist Soichiro Tahara speaks to reporters outside the Kobe District Court in Hyogo Prefecture on June 3, 2011, after a hearing on a damages suit against him over remarks he made on a TV talk show about two Japanese women abducted by North Korea. The parents of Keiko Arimoto, one of the abduction victims, are seeking 10 million yen in compensation over his remarks on the TV Asahi talk show that Arimoto must already be dead and the Japanese Foreign Ministry was aware of that.

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Parents of abductee to N. Korea

KOBE, Japan - Kayoko (L) and Akihiro Arimoto, the mother and father of Keiko Arimoto who is a victim of North Korea's abductions, speak at a press conference in Kobe on June 3, 2011, after a hearing on a damages suit they filed against journalist Soichiro Tahara over remarks he made. The Arimotos are seeking 10 million yen in compensation over his remarks made on a TV Asahi talk show that their daughter must already be dead and the Japanese Foreign Ministry was aware of that.

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Abduction inquiry group to air messages on radio reaching N. Korea

OSAKA, Japan - Akihiro Arimoto, who had his daughter Keiko abducted by North Korea, speaks as his wife Kayoko listens at a meeting of the Investigation Commission on Missing Japanese Probably Related to North Korea held in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, on Oct. 22. Kazuhiro Araki, who heads the group, told the meeting it will air messages on shortwave radio, which reaches North Korea, at the end of October in an effort to collect more information about missing Japanese.

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(3)Delegates report on findings about abductees in N. Korea

TOKYO, Japan - Akihiro Arimoto and his wife Kayoko, whose daughter Keiko was abducted by North Korea, arrive at the Cabinet Office to be briefed on the results of the just-ended talks between Japan and N. Korea in Pyongyang on the abduction issue.

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Kin informed of death dates of abducted Japanese

KOBE, Japan - Kayoko Arimoto bursts into tears after being informed by the Foreign Ministry on Sept. 19 of the date of her daughter Keiko's death in North Korea.

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(2)Abductees' kin grief-stricken over report of death

TOKYO, Japan - Akihiro Arimoto, whose daughter Keiko was confirmed dead by North Korea on Sept. 17, expresses his anger at a news conference in Tokyo over a deal reached earlier in the day between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to resume normalization talks.

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(3)Abductees' kin grief-stricken over report of death

TOKYO, Japan - Kayoko Arimoto (L) and Sakie Yokota, told of the confirmed deaths of their daughters, look sad at a news conference in Tokyo on Sept. 17.

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(4)Abductees' kin grief-stricken over report of death

TOKYO, Japan - Ikuko Arimoto tries to hold back her tears in Kobe on Sept. 17 on hearing reports that her elder sister Keiko was confirmed dead by North Korea.

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(2)North Korea confirms eight persons dead

TOKYO, Japan - File photos show three persons who were taken to North Korea and were confirmed dead by North Korea on Sept. 17. (From L to R) Keiko Arimoto, Yaeko Taguchi (known to have used Korean name Ri Un Hye) and Tadaaki Hara.

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Kin of abductees demand information on all 11

TOKYO, Japan - Kayoko Arimoto (standing), the mother of Keiko Arimoto, one of 11 Japanese that Japan alleges were abducted by North Korean agents, speaks at a press conference in Tokyo on Sept. 17 with other relatives of the 11 missing people. The relatives demanded that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi return from his landmark visit to North Korea with information on all the 11 people, not just one or two.

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Kin of missing Japanese gather signatures ahead of summit

OSAKA, Japan - Akihiro Arimoto (L) and his wife Kayoko gather signatures on an Osaka street on Sept. 7 demanding the return of their daughter Keiko who is believed to have been abducted to North Korea in 1983 when she was a 23-year-old student. The petition will be delivered to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi before he leaves for Pyongyang for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on Sept. 17.

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Parents receive 9,000 signatures for missing daughter

KOBE, Japan - Akihiro Arimoto (L), accompanied by his wife Kayoko, receives a copy of about 9,000 signatures urging the state to quickly resolve the case of their daughter Keiko, one of 11 Japanese who Tokyo believes were abducted by North Korea.

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Kin of 2 women believed abducted by N. Korea address Diet

TOKYO, Japan - The parents of two young women allegedly abducted by North Korean agents address a session of the Committee of Foreign and Security Affairs at the House of Councillors on April 18. They asked the government to resolve the cases as quickly as possible. From L to R are Kayoko and Akihiro Arimoto, whose daughter Keiko went missing in 1983, and Sakie and Shigeru Yokota, whose 13-year-old daughter Megumi vanished in 1977.

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Parents of missing Japanese say lawmaker tried to shut them up

KOBE, Japan - Akihiro (L) and Kayoko Arimoto, the parents of Keiko Arimoto, who Japan believes was abducted in Europe and taken to Pyongyang in 1983 at age 23, attend a gathering in Kobe on March 24. Kayoko said that Masaaki Nakayama, a House of Representatives member from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, told them Keiko had been abducted by another Japanese and that North Korea was not involved, so they should keep quiet about the case.

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N. Korea suggests 1 missing Japanese alive, 2 dead

KOBE, Japan - Akihiro Arimoto (L) and his wife Kayoko speak to reporters on suggestion by North Korea that one Japanese out of 11 Tokyo believes were abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s is still alive but two others are dead. A well-informed source said March 23 that their daughter, Keiko Arimoto, believed to have been abducted in Europe and taken to North Korea in 1983 at age 23, is still alive.

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Keiko's parents talk with the media

TOKYO, Japan - Akihiro Arimoto (L) and his wife Kayoko talk with the media in Tokyo on March 12 about their daughter Keiko, who went missing in Europe in 1983 when she was 23. The former wife of one of the Japanese who hijacked a Japan Airlines jet to North Korea in 1970 told police investigators a North Korean diplomat ordered two Japanese to help abduct Keiko in Europe in 1983.

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Police set up team for Japanese missing since 1983

TOKYO, Japan - The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department set up headquarters March 11 to investigate the disappearance of Keiko Arimoto (photo), who they believe was abducted by North Korean agents. Arimoto, a former student at Kobe City University of Foreign Studies, went missing in Europe in 1983.

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Keiko's parents talk with the media

TOKYO, Japan - Akihiro Arimoto (L) and his wife Kayoko talk with the media in Tokyo on March 12 about their daughter Keiko, who went missing in Europe in 1983 when she was 23. The former wife of one of the Japanese who hijacked a Japan Airlines jet to North Korea in 1970 told police investigators a North Korean diplomat ordered two Japanese to help abduct Keiko in Europe in 1983.

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N. Korea suggests 1 missing Japanese alive, 2 dead

KOBE, Japan - Akihiro Arimoto (L) and his wife Kayoko speak to reporters on suggestion by North Korea that one Japanese out of 11 Tokyo believes were abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s is still alive but two others are dead. A well-informed source said March 23 that their daughter, Keiko Arimoto, believed to have been abducted in Europe and taken to North Korea in 1983 at age 23, is still alive.

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(3)Delegates report on findings about abductees in N. Korea

TOKYO, Japan - Akihiro Arimoto and his wife Kayoko, whose daughter Keiko was abducted by North Korea, arrive at the Cabinet Office to be briefed on the results of the just-ended talks between Japan and N. Korea in Pyongyang on the abduction issue. (Kyodo)

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Kin of missing Japanese gather signatures ahead of summit

OSAKA, Japan - Akihiro Arimoto (L) and his wife Kayoko gather signatures on an Osaka street on Sept. 7 demanding the return of their daughter Keiko who is believed to have been abducted to North Korea in 1983 when she was a 23-year-old student. The petition will be delivered to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi before he leaves for Pyongyang for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on Sept. 17. (Kyodo)

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Police set up team for Japanese missing since 1983

TOKYO, Japan - The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department set up headquarters March 11 to investigate the disappearance of Keiko Akimoto (photo), who they believe was abducted by North Korean agents. Arimoto, a former student at Kobe City University of Foreign Studies, went missing in Europe in 1983.

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Arrest warrant issued for hijacker over 1983 abduction

TOKYO, Japan - Police obtain an arrest warrant on Sept. 25 for Kimihiro Abe (file photo), one of the nine Japanese radicals who hijacked a domestic plane to North Korea in 1970, on suspicion of abducting Keiko Arimoto to the country in 1983. Police will put Abe on the international wanted list and demand Pyongyang extradite him to Japan. (Kyodo)

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Abduction inquiry group to air messages on radio reaching N. Kor

OSAKA, Japan - Akihiro Arimoto, who had his daughter Keiko abducted by North Korea, speaks as his wife Kayoko listens at a meeting of the Investigation Commission on Missing Japanese Probably Related to North Korea held in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, on Oct. 22. Kazuhiro Araki, who heads the group, told the meeting it will air messages on shortwave radio, which reaches North Korea, at the end of October in an effort to collect more information about missing Japanese. (Kyodo)

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Journalist Tahara outside of court

KOBE, Japan - Journalist Soichiro Tahara speaks to reporters outside the Kobe District Court in Hyogo Prefecture on June 3, 2011, after a hearing on a damages suit against him over remarks he made on a TV talk show about two Japanese women abducted by North Korea. The parents of Keiko Arimoto, one of the abduction victims, are seeking 10 million yen in compensation over his remarks on the TV Asahi talk show that Arimoto must already be dead and the Japanese Foreign Ministry was aware of that. (Kyodo)

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Parents of abductee to N. Korea

KOBE, Japan - Kayoko (L) and Akihiro Arimoto, the mother and father of Keiko Arimoto who is a victim of North Korea's abductions, speak at a press conference in Kobe on June 3, 2011, after a hearing on a damages suit they filed against journalist Soichiro Tahara over remarks he made. The Arimotos are seeking 10 million yen in compensation over his remarks made on a TV Asahi talk show that their daughter must already be dead and the Japanese Foreign Ministry was aware of that. (Kyodo)

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North Korea abduction issue

Akihiro Arimoto, the father of Keiko Arimoto, who was abducted by North Korea in 1983 at age 23, speaks during his visit to a panel exhibition in Kobe, western Japan, on Dec. 10, 2020, on North Korea's abductions of Japanese citizens.

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North Korea abduction issue

Akihiro Arimoto, the father of Keiko Arimoto, who was abducted by North Korea in 1983 at age 23, visits a panel exhibition in Kobe, western Japan, on Dec. 10, 2020, on North Korea's abductions of Japanese citizens.

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Mother of Japanese abducted by N. Korea dies

Akihiro Arimoto and his wife Kayoko celebrate the 59th birthday of their daughter Keiko -- abducted by North Korea in 1983 when she was 23 years old -- in Kobe, western Japan, on Jan. 12, 2019. Kayoko died on Feb. 3, 2020, at age 94. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Mother of Japanese abducted by N. Korea dies

Akihiro Arimoto, whose daughter Keiko was abducted by North Korea in 1983 when she was 23 years old, attends a press conference in Kobe on Feb. 6, 2020, after his wife Kayoko died on Feb. 3 at age 94. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Mother of Japanese abducted by N. Korea dies

Akihiro Arimoto (L), whose daughter Keiko was abducted by North Korea in 1983 when she was 23 years old, attends a press conference in Kobe on Feb. 6, 2020, after his wife Kayoko died on Feb. 3 at age 94. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Death of Japanese abductee's mother

Photo taken in August 2012 shows Kayoko Arimoto, the mother of Keiko Arimoto, who was abducted by North Korea in 1983 when she was 23 years old. The mother died on Feb. 3, 2020, aged 94. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Kin of Japanese abducted by N. Korea

Akihiro Arimoto, whose daughter Keiko was abducted by North Korea in 1983 at age 23, meets the press in Kobe, western Japan, on Feb. 28, 2019, following the second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Kin of Japanese abducted by N. Korea

Akihiro Arimoto, whose daughter Keiko was abducted by North Korea in 1983 at age 23, meets the press in Kobe, western Japan, on Feb. 28, 2019, following the second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Kin informed of death dates of abducted Japanese

KOBE, Japan - Kayoko Arimoto bursts into tears after being informed by the Foreign Ministry on Sept. 19 of the date of her daughter Keiko's death in North Korea. (Kyodo)

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(4)Abductees' kin grief-stricken over report of death

TOKYO, Japan - Ikuko Arimoto tries to hold back her tears in Kobe on Sept. 17 on hearing reports that her elder sister Keiko was confirmed dead by North Korea. (Kyodo)

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(3)Abductees' kin grief-stricken over report of death

TOKYO, Japan - Kayoko Arimoto (L) and Sakie Yokota, told of the confirmed deaths of their daughters, look sad at a news conference in Tokyo on Sept. 17. (Kyodo)

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(2)North Korea confirms eight persons dead

TOKYO, Japan - File photos show three persons who were taken to North Korea and were confirmed dead by North Korea on Sept. 17. (From L to R) Keiko Arimoto, Yaeko Taguchi (known to have used Korean name Ri Un Hye) and Tadaaki Hara. (Kyodo)