Symposium on N. Korea's abductions

TOKYO, Japan, Dec. 14 Kyodo - Takuya Yokota, head of a group representing the families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s, speaks at a government-sponsored symposium on the issue in Tokyo on Dec. 13, 2025. He called for the early return of abductees including his older sister Megumi, who was abducted by North Korea in 1977 aged 13. (Kyodo)

Symposium on N. Korea's abductions

Symposium on N. Korea's abductions

Takuya Yokota, head of a group representing the families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s, speaks at a government-sponsored symposium on the issue in Tokyo on Dec. 13, 2025. He called for the early return of abductees including his older sister Megumi, who was abducted by North Korea in 1977 aged 13.

Symposium on abduction issue

Symposium on abduction issue

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks during a government-sponsored symposium on Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s in Tokyo on Dec. 16, 2023.

Symposium on abduction issue

Symposium on abduction issue

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks during a government-sponsored symposium on Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s in Tokyo on Dec. 16, 2023.

Symposium on abduction issue

Symposium on abduction issue

Takuya Yokota, head of a group representing the families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s, speaks during a government-sponsored symposium on the abduction issue in Tokyo on Dec. 16, 2023. Yokota is a younger brother of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted by North Korea in 1977 aged 13.

N. Korean abductees' kin press int'l community to do more

N. Korean abductees' kin press int'l community to do more

Shoichi Osawa, the older brother of Takashi Osawa, who disappeared as a 27-year-old from Sado Island in Niigata, central Japan, attends a Japanese government-sponsored symposium on North Korea's human rights violations at the U.N. headquarters in New York on May 4, 2016. "Please help us as we strive for the release of the abductees so that they can maintain their dignity as human beings and enjoy freedom once again," Osawa said. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

N. Korean abductees' kin press int'l community to do more

N. Korean abductees' kin press int'l community to do more

Takuya Yokota, the younger brother of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted to North Korea in 1977 when she was 13, attends a Japanese government-sponsored symposium on North Korea's human rights violations at the U.N. headquarters in New York on May 4, 2016. Yokota, secretary general of the Association of Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea, pressed the international community to keep a spotlight on the issue of those forcibly taken from their countries. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo