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Minamata disease victims mourned on 50th anniv.

MINAMATA, Japan - Tsuginori Hamamoto, 70, a Minamata disease patient whose parents succumbed to the disease, is moved to tears while making a speech at a memorial service held in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, on the 50th anniversary of the disease's official recognition on May 1. ''We need to learn lessons from failure so we will not repeat the pollution and bring about victims like us,'' Hamamoto said.

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Obama mayor reads poem by abductee's brother at ceremony

OBAMA, Japan - Toshio Murakami (on rostrum), mayor of Obama, home to Yasushi Chimura and his wife Fukie, reads a poem written by Fukie's brother Yuko Hamamoto on Jan. 12 at a coming-of-age ceremony in the Fukui Prefecture city. The Chimuras are back in Japan after being abducted to North Korea in 1978. (Pool photo)

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Abductees' kin rejoice at gov't announcement

OBAMA, Japan - Tamotsu Chimura (L), whose son Yasushi was abducted to North Korea in 1978 and is currently visiting Japan, and Yuko Hamamoto, Yasushi's brother-in-law, rejoice Oct. 24 after Tokyo announced that Yasushi, his wife and three other abductees who returned to Japan will not go back to North Korea.

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(3)Couple abducted by N. Korea register marriage

OBAMA, Japan - Yasushi Chimura (L) puts his signature on a marriage registry document at the Obama municipal government in Fukui Prefecture on Oct. 23, with his wife Fukie Hamamoto looking on. The couple were abducted to North Korea on July 7, 1978, just before their scheduled marriage ceremony on Nov. 26 the same year. (Pool photo)

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(2)Couple abducted by N. Korea register marriage

OBAMA, Japan - Fukui Gov. Yukio Kurita (R) presents a gift Oct. 23 to Yasushi Chimura (L) and Fukie Hamamoto (2nd from L), a Japanese couple abducted to North Korea in 1978, as they registers their marriage with the government of Obama, Fukui Prefecture, their hometown. (Pool photo)

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(1)Couple abducted by N. Korea register marriage

OBAMA, Japan - Yasushi Chimura (L) and Fukie Hamamoto (2nd from L), a Japanese couple abducted to North Korea in 1978, register their marriage Oct. 23 with the government of Obama, Fukui Prefecture, their hometown. They also registered the births of their North Korean-born daughter, 21, and two sons, 18 and 15, who did not accompany them to Japan. (Pool photo)

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Chimura, Hamamoto visit graves of Hamamoto family

OBAMA, Japan - Yasushi Chimura (2nd from L) and Fukie Hamamoto (2nd from R), a couple abducted to North Korea in 1978, pay respects to Hamamoto's ancestral graves in Obama, Fukui Prefecture, on Oct. 21 during their temporary visit to Japan. (Pool photo)

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(5)Abductees enjoy their homecoming

OBAMA, Japan - Fukie Hamamoto (2nd from R) looks at a self-portrait she painted in primary school during a visit to the now-defunct school in Obama, Fukui Prefecture, on Oct. 20. She was accompanied by her former teacher and classmates. (Pool photo)

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(6)Abductees enjoy their homecoming

OBAMA, Japan - Fukie Hamamoto, who visited her primary school in Obama, Fukui Prefecture, on Oct. 20, sits at the desk she once used. The school is not in use because of a drop in the number of children, but most facilities are kept intact. It was Hamamoto's first visit to the school since being abducted to North Korea in 1978. (Pool photo)

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(7) Abductees spend time in hometown

OBAMA, Japan - Yasushi Chimura (2nd from L) and his wife Fukie Hamamoto visit with the head of a local support group for Japanese abductees in Obama, Fukui Prefecture, on Oct. 19. They are among five Japanese on their first homecoming since being abducted to North Korea in 1978. (Pool photo)

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(2)Japan begins issuing passports to 5 abductees

OBAMA, Japan - Fukie Hamamoto (R) receives her passport from an unidentified official of the Fukui prefectural government at her home in Obama in the prefecture on Oct. 18, with her brother Yuko looking on. Japan began issuing passports to Hamamoto and four other Japanese who were abducted to North Korea in 1978 and are currently in Japan on a homecoming visit. (Pool photo)

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(3)Abductees visit relatives, graves

OBAMA, Japan - Fukie Hamamoto (R) and Yasushi Chimura (2nd from R) head for the grave of Chimura's mother Toshiko, who died at age 74 in April, in Obama, Fukui Prefecture, on Oct. 18. The couple, who got married in North Korea in 1979, returned to their homes in Obama on Oct. 17 for the first time since being abducted to North Korea in 1978. (Pool photo)

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(2)Abductees visit relatives, graves

OBAMA, Japan - Yasushi Chimura (2nd from R) prays at the grave of his mother Toshiko, who died at age 74 in April, in Obama, Fukui Prefecture, on Oct. 18. Chimura, along with Fukie Hamamoto to whom Chimura got married in 1979 in North Korea, returned to their homes in Obama on Oct. 17 for the first time since being abducted to North Korea in 1978. (Pool photo)

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(5)Abductees visit relatives, graves

OBAMA, Japan - Fukie Hamamoto, who returned to her home in Obama, Fukui Prefecture on Oct. 18 for the first time since being abducted to North Korea in 1978, prays at her family's memorial tablet in her home on Oct. 18. (Pool photo)

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(9)5 returnees arrive in hometowns in Fukui, Niigata

OBAMA, Japan - Fukie Hamamoto (2nd from L), abducted to North Korea in 1978, enjoys hot-pot foods at her family's home in Obama, Fukui Prefecture, on Oct. 17, two days after returning to Japan for a temporary visit. (Pool photo)

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(2)5 returnees arrive in hometowns in Fukui, Niigata

OBAMA, Japan - Yasushi Chimura (L) and his wife Fukie Hamamoto (C), who were abducted to North Korea, give an address at their hometown in Obama, Fukui Prefecture, on Oct. 17 during a temporary visit to Japan.

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(1)5 returnees head to hometowns in Fukui, Niigata

TOKYO, Japan - Yasushi Chimura (L) and Fukie Hamamoto, who returned to Japan on Oct. 15 for the first time since being abducted to North Korea in 1978, leave a hotel in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Oct. 17 for their hometown, Obama in Fukui Prefecture. (Pool photo)

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(6)Abductees glad to be in homeland

TOKYO, Japan - Yukiko Okudo (2nd from L) and Kaoru Hasuike (3rd from L) are seated at a joint news conference at a Tokyo hotel, flanked by Okudo's father Kazuo (L) and Hasuike's mother Hatsui (R). Okudo and Hasuike married in North Korea. ''I am happy to meet all of you. Thank you very much,'' a smiling Hamamoto said before handing the microphone over to her husband.

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(2)Abductees glad to be in homeland

TOKYO, Japan - Five abductees who returned from North Korea for temporary homecoming give short speeches at a joint news conference at a Tokyo hotel on Oct. 15. (From L to R) Kaoru Hasuike, Yukiko Okudo, Yasushi Chimura, Fukie Hamamoto and Hitomi Soga.

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(5)Abductees glad to be in homeland

TOKYO, Japan - Yasushi Chimura (L) and Fukie Hamamoto smile at a news conference they gave with three other abductees at a Tokyo hotel on Oct. 15. Chimura, who married Hamamoto in North Korea, said he was sorry for having caused anxiety over his disappearance 24 years ago.

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(4)Abductees glad to be in homeland

TOKYO, Japan - Yasushi Chimura (2nd from L) and Fukie Hamamoto (2nd from R) are seated at a joint news conference at a Tokyo hotel on Oct. 15, flanked by Chimura's father Tamotsu (L) and Hamamoto's brother Yuko (R).

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(2)Abductees, kin embrace after 24 years

TOKYO, Japan - Fukie Hamamoto embraces one of her kin and bursts into tears on arrival at Haneda airport from Pyongyang on Oct. 15.

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(2)Five abductees, now and 24 years ago

TOKYO, Japan - Yasushi Chimura, 47, was abducted by North Korea with Fukie Hamamoto on July 7, 1978. They married in 1979 and have two sons a daughter.

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(1)Five abductees, now and 24 years ago

TOKYO, Japan - Fukie Hamamoto, 47, was abducted by North Korea on July 7, 1978, with Yasushi Chimura. They married in North Korea in 1979.

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(1)Abductees, kin embrace after 24 years

TOKYO, Japan - Hitomi Soga (top), Yukiko Okudo (L 2nd row), Kaoru Hasuike (R 2nd row), Fukie Hamamoto (C low) and Yasushi Chimura (R low) walk down the stairs at Haneda airport after a flight from Pyongyang on Oct. 15.

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(2)5 abducted by N. Korea reunited with families

TOKYO, Japan - Fukie Hamamoto (C), abducted to North Korea in July 1978, arrives at Tokyo's Haneda airport on Oct. 15. Hamamoto and four other Japanese abducted by North Korea arrived in the afternoon for a temporary homecoming.

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(1)Five surviving abductees to visit Japan

TOKYO, Japan - File photos show Yasushi Chimura (upper L), Fukie Hamamoto (upper R), Yukiko Okudo (lower L) and Hitomi Soga (lower R), who have lived in North Korea since being abducted to the country and are due to arrive at Narita airport on Oct. 15 for a temporary visit to Japan.

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Hamamoto's photo, letter made public

TOKYO, Japan - Photo shows a picture of and letter from Fukie Hamamoto, who was abducted to North Korea and is alive there. The picture and letter were made public by Fukie's brother Sept. 27.

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(1)4 abductees confirmed alive

TOKYO, Japan - File photos show three persons who were abducted by North Korea and confirmed alive at the summit talks between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang on Sept. 17. (From L to R) Fukie Hamamoto, Yukiko Okudo and Yasushi Chimura.

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(2)Abductees visit relatives, graves

OBAMA, Japan - Yasushi Chimura (2nd from R) prays at the grave of his mother Toshiko, who died at age 74 in April, in Obama, Fukui Prefecture, on Oct. 18. Chimura, along with Fukie Hamamoto to whom Chimura got married in 1979 in North Korea, returned to their homes in Obama on Oct. 17 for the first time since being abducted to North Korea in 1978. (Pool photo)(Kyodo)

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(2)Couple abducted by N. Korea register marriage

OBAMA, Japan - Fukui Gov. Yukio Kurita (R) presents a gift Oct. 23 to Yasushi Chimura (L) and Fukie Hamamoto (2nd from L), a Japanese couple abducted to North Korea in 1978, after they registered their marriage with the government of Obama, Fukui Prefecture, their hometown. (Pool photo) (Kyodo)

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(5)Abductees glad to be in homeland

TOKYO, Japan - Yasushi Chimura (L) and Fukie Hamamoto smile at a news conference they gave with three other abductees at a Tokyo hotel on Oct. 15. Chimura, who married Hamamoto in North Korea, said he was sorry for having caused anxiety over his disappearance 24 years ago. (Kyodo)

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(6)Abductees glad to be in homeland

TOKYO, Japan - Yukiko Okudo (2nd from L) and Kaoru Hasuike (3rd from L) are seated at a joint news conference at a Tokyo hotel, flanked by Okudo's father Kazuo (L) and Hasuike's mother Hatsui (R). Okudo and Hasuike married in North Korea. ''I am happy to meet all of you. Thank you very much,'' a smiling Hamamoto said before handing the microphone over to her husband. (Kyodo)

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(1)Five abductees, now and 24 years ago

TOKYO, Japan - Fukie Hamamoto, 47, was abducted by North Korea on July 7, 1978, with Yasushi Chimura. They married in North Korea in 1979. (Kyodo)

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Japan women beaten by China at World Team Table Tennis Championships

(From L) Japan's Yui Hamamoto, Kasumi Ishikawa, Ai Fukuhara, Misako Wakamiya and Mima Ito pose with their silver medals after finishing second at the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Kuala Lumpur on March 6, 2016. Japan's women were defeated 3-0 by China in the final, missing out on the title they last won in 1971. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Trailer houses used as shelter for evacuees from quakes

Photo taken June 19, 2016, shows Yuko Hamamoto (L), 46, taking shelter in a trailer house with her eldest son, a sixth-grader, in the southwestern Japanese town of Mashiki, severely damaged by a series of powerful earthquakes. As of June 19, 19 trailer houses had been secured. They are to be used through the end of August. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Minamata disease victims mourned on 50th anniv.

MINAMATA, Japan - Tsuginori Hamamoto, 70, a Minamata disease patient whose parents succumbed to the disease, is moved to tears while making a speech at a memorial service held in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, on the 50th anniversary of the disease's official recognition on May 1. ''We need to learn lessons from failure so we will not repeat the pollution and bring about victims like us,'' Hamamoto said. (Kyodo)

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(1)5 returnees head to hometowns in Fukui, Niigata

TOKYO, Japan - Yasushi Chimura (L) and Fukie Hamamoto, who returned to Japan on Oct. 15 for the first time since being abducted to North Korea in 1978, leave a hotel in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Oct. 17 for their hometown, Obama in Fukui Prefecture. (Pool photo)(Kyodo)

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(5)Abductees visit relatives, graves

OBAMA, Japan - Fukie Hamamoto, who returned to her home in Obama, Fukui Prefecture on Oct. 18 for the first time since being abducted to North Korea in 1978, prays at her family's memorial tablet in her home on Oct. 18. (Pool photo)(Kyodo)

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Hamamoto's photo, letter made public

TOKYO, Japan - Photo shows a picture of and letter from Fukie Hamamoto, who was abducted to North Korea and is alive there. The picture and letter were made public by Fukie's brother Sept. 27. (Kyodo)

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Table tennis: Hamamoto, Hayata win women's doubles at tour finals

Japanese teenagers Yui Hamamoto (R) and Hina Hayata play against Doo Hoi Kem and Lee Ho Ching of Hong Kong during the women's doubles final at the table tennis World Tour Grand Finals in Doha, Qatar on Dec. 11, 2016. Hamamoto and Hayata won 4-2 to claim their first win at the event for top players on the International Table Tennis Federation's world tour. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Obama mayor reads poem by abductee's brother at ceremony

OBAMA, Japan - Toshio Murakami (on rostrum), mayor of Obama, home to Yasushi Chimura and his wife Fukie, reads a poem written by Fukie's brother Yuko Hamamoto on Jan. 12 at a coming-of-age ceremony in the Fukui Prefecture city. The Chimuras are back in Japan after being abducted to North Korea in 1978. (Pool photo)(Kyodo)

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Abductees' kin rejoice at gov't announcement

OBAMA, Japan - Tamotsu Chimura (L), whose son Yasushi was abducted to North Korea in 1978 and is currently visiting Japan, and Yuko Hamamoto, Yasushi's brother-in-law, rejoice Oct. 24 after Tokyo announced that Yasushi, his wife and three other abductees who returned to Japan will not go back to North Korea. (Kyodo)

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(3)Couple abducted by N. Korea register marriage

OBAMA, Japan - Yasushi Chimura (L) puts his signature on a marriage registry document at the Obama municipal government in Fukui Prefecture on Oct. 23, with his wife Fukie Hamamoto looking on. The couple were abducted to North Korea on July 7, 1978, just before their scheduled marriage ceremony on Nov. 26 the same year. (Pool photo)(Kyodo)

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(1)Couple abducted by N. Korea register marriage

OBAMA, Japan - Yasushi Chimura (L) and Fukie Hamamoto (2nd from L), a Japanese couple abducted to North Korea in 1978, register their marriage Oct. 23 with the government of Obama, Fukui Prefecture, their hometown. They also registered the births of their North Korean-born daughter, 21, and two sons, 18 and 15, who did not accompany them to Japan. (Pool photo) (Kyodo)

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Chimura, Hamamoto visit graves of Hamamoto family

OBAMA, Japan - Yasushi Chimura (2nd from L) and Fukie Hamamoto (2nd from R), a couple abducted to North Korea in 1978, pay respects to Hamamoto's ancestral graves in Obama, Fukui Prefecture, on Oct. 21 during their temporary visit to Japan. (Pool photo) (Kyodo)

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(5)Abductees enjoy their homecoming

OBAMA, Japan - Fukie Hamamoto (2nd from R) looks at a self-portrait she painted in primary school during a visit to the now-defunct school in Obama, Fukui Prefecture, on Oct. 20. She was accompanied by her former teacher and classmates. (Pool photo) (Kyodo)

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(7) Abductees spend time in hometown

OBAMA, Japan - Yasushi Chimura (2nd from L) and his wife Fukie Hamamoto visit with the head of a local support group for Japanese abductees in Obama, Fukui Prefecture, on Oct. 19. They are among five Japanese on their first homecoming since being abducted to North Korea in 1978. (Pool photo) (Kyodo)

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(3)Abductees visit relatives, graves

OBAMA, Japan - Fukie Hamamoto (R) and Yasushi Chimura (2nd from R) head for the grave of Chimura's mother Toshiko, who died at age 74 in April, in Obama, Fukui Prefecture, on Oct. 18. The couple, who got married in North Korea in 1979, returned to their homes in Obama on Oct. 17 for the first time since being abducted to North Korea in 1978. (Pool photo)(Kyodo)

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(2)Japan begins issuing passports to 5 abductees

OBAMA, Japan - Fukie Hamamoto (R) receives her passport from an unidentified official of the Fukui prefectural government at her home in Obama in the prefecture on Oct. 18, with her brother Yuko looking on. Japan began issuing passports to Hamamoto and four other Japanese who were abducted to North Korea in 1978 and are currently in Japan on a homecoming visit. (Pool photo)(Kyodo)