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Ex-abductee seeks early return of remaining abductees

Former Japanese abductee Hitomi Soga (R) collects signatures in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, on Oct. 5, 2025, calling for new Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi to pave the way for holding direct negotiations with North Korea to bring back all the remaining abductees, including her mother, to Japan. Soga, 66, returned from North Korea in 2002 following a Japan-North Korea summit in Pyongyang.

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Ex-abductee seeks early return of remaining abductees

Former Japanese abductee Hitomi Soga (R) collects signatures in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, on Oct. 5, 2025, calling for new Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi to pave the way for holding direct negotiations with North Korea to bring back all the remaining abductees, including her mother, to Japan. Soga, 66, returned from North Korea in 2002 following a Japan-North Korea summit in Pyongyang.

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Ex-abductee seeks early return of remaining abductees

Former Japanese abductee Hitomi Soga (L) collects signatures in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, on Oct. 5, 2025, calling for new Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi to pave the way for holding direct negotiations with North Korea to bring back all the remaining abductees, including her mother, to Japan. Soga, 66, returned from North Korea in 2002 following a Japan-North Korea summit in Pyongyang.

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Japanese ex-abductee Soga

Former Japanese abductee Hitomi Soga speaks during an interview in her hometown Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on Dec. 18, 2024. Soga, 65, was abducted to North Korea in 1978 before being repatriated in 2002.

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Japanese crested ibis released on Sado Island

Crested ibis, designated as a special natural treasure in Japan, fly on Sado Island in the Sea of Japan in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on June 4, 2024, when the Environment Ministry released 17 crested ibis, born in zoos in other parts of Japan, to increase their population in wilderness.

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Soga joins campaign for prompt release of abduction victims

NIIGATA, Japan - Hitomi Soga (L), who was abducted by North Korea in 1978 and returned to Japan in 2002, engages in a signature-collection campaign in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on Aug. 22, 2014, to urge the North Korean government for the prompt release of other abductees.

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Ex-abductee calls for return of other abduction victims

NIIGATA, Japan - Hitomi Soga (C), a Japanese national who was abducted by North Korea, asks people to sign a petition for the return of other abduction victims including her mother in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, in April 2014.

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Returned abductee Soga speaks in Sado

NIIGATA, Japan - Hitomi Soga, a Japanese national abducted by North Korea, speaks in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on July 8, 2014, saying she hopes for the return of all abductees.

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Returned abductee Soga meets lawmakers

NIIGATA, Japan - Hitomi Soga (C), one of Japanese nationals who were abducted to North Korea but returned home later, attends a meeting in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 21, 2014, with members of a House of Representatives special committee on the abduction issue.

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Man behind reintroduction of wild crested ibises

NIIGATA, Japan - Photo taken May 23, 2013 in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, shows Kei Osada, who has seen 12 chicks born in the wild leave their nests during his three-year stint as the person in charge of Japan's captive breeding program of the endangered crested ibis. Of the 12, eight chicks born in 2012 were the first wild crested ibises to leave their nests in as many as 38 years in Japan.

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Ex-abductee's husband

NIIGATA, Japan - Charles Jenkins, a former U.S. deserter who married Japanese abductee Hitomi Soga in North Korea in 1980, speaks during an interview in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on Sept. 29, 2012.

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Young ibis encounters raccoon dog

SADO, Japan - A young crested ibis encounters a raccoon dog in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on June 7, 2012. (Pool photo)

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Young ibis eludes cat

SADO, Japan - A young crested ibis flies away from a cat (below) in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on June 3, 2012. (Pool photo)

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Young ibises in Sado

SADO, Japan - Two young crested ibises (L) look for food beside one of their parents (R) in a fallow rice paddy in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on June 1, 2012. The young birds were two of three crested ibis chicks born in late April 2012 to a pair released in March 2011. They are believed to have begun learning to fly in late May 2012, becoming the first crested ibises to do so in the wild in Japan for 38 years. (Pool photo)

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Young ibises in Sado

SADO, Japan - A young crested ibis (L) lands beside one of its parents in a fallow rice paddy in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on June 1, 2012. The young bird is one of three crested ibis chicks born in late April 2012 to a pair released in March 2011. They are believed to have begun learning to fly in late May 2012, becoming the first crested ibises to do so in the wild in Japan for 38 years. (Pool photo)

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Young ibises in Sado

SADO, Japan - Two young crested ibises spread their wings in a fallow rice paddy in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on June 1, 2012. The young birds were two of three crested ibis chicks born in late April 2012 to a pair released in March 2011. They are believed to have begun learning to fly in late May 2012, becoming the first crested ibises to do so in the wild in Japan for 38 years. (Pool photo)

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Young ibis flies

SADO, Japan - A young crested ibis flies in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on May 31, 2012. The bird was one of three crested ibis chicks born in late April 2012 to a 3-year-old male and a 2-year-old female released in March 2011. They are believed to have begun learning to fly between May 25 and 27, 2012, becoming the first crested ibises to do so in the wild for 38 years in Japan. (Pool photo)

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Young ibis on rooftop

SADO, Japan - A young crested ibis is perched on a rooftop in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on May 31, 2012. The bird was one of three crested ibis chicks born in late April 2012 to a 3-year-old male and a 2-year-old female released in March 2011. The one-month-old birds are believed to have begun learning to fly between May 25 and 27, 2012, becoming the first crested ibises to do so in the wild for 38 years in Japan. (Pool photo)

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Young ibis on tree

SADO, Japan - A young crested ibis stands on a tree branch in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on May 31, 2012. The bird was one of three crested ibis chicks born in late April 2012 to a 3-year-old male and a 2-year-old female released in March 2011. The one-month-old birds are believed to have begun learning to fly between May 25 and 27, 2012, becoming the first crested ibises to do so in the wild for 38 years in Japan. (Pool photo)

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Young ibis flies

SADO, Japan - A young crested ibis flies in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on May 31, 2012. The bird was one of three crested ibis chicks born in late April 2012 to a 3-year-old male and a 2-year-old female released in March 2011. They are believed to have begun learning to fly between May 25 and 27, 2012, becoming the first crested ibises to do so in the wild for 38 years in Japan. (Pool photo)

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Young ibis flies

SADO, Japan - A young crested ibis (top) flies in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on May 31, 2012. The bird was one of three crested ibis chicks born in late April 2012 to a 3-year-old male and a 2-year-old female released in March 2011. They are believed to have begun learning to fly between May 25 and 27, 2012, becoming the first crested ibises to do so in the wild for 38 years in Japan. At bottom is one of its parents. (Pool photo)

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Young ibis flies

SADO, Japan - A young crested ibis flies in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on May 31, 2012. The bird was one of three crested ibis chicks born in late April 2012 to a 3-year-old male and a 2-year-old female released in March 2011. They are believed to have begun learning to fly between May 25 and 27, 2012, becoming the first crested ibises to do so in the wild for 38 years in Japan. (Pool photo)

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Crested ibises in Sado, Niigata Pref.

NIIGATA, Japan - A flock of crested ibises rest on perches in a preparation cage in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on Oct. 22, 2010, before being released into the wild. (Pool photo)

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Crested ibises in Sado, Niigata Pref.

NIIGATA, Japan - Two crested ibises rest on perches in a preparation cage in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on Oct. 22, 2010, before being released into the wild. (Pool photo)

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Crested ibis on Sado Island

TOKYO, Japan - A crested ibis (L) preens beside egrets near a rice field in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on April 25, 2010.

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Crested ibis throws out another egg from nest

SADO, Japan - A crested ibis sits at its nest on Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture, on April 26, 2010. An Environment Ministry official saw the male crested ibis throw an egg out of the nest the same day. There is believed to be one egg remaining in the nest of the 3-year-old male and 1-year-old female ibis, which threw out an egg on April 22.

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Crested ibis in Japan's Sado

SADO, Japan - A crested ibis, an endangered species, flies over ''sakura'' cherry blossoms in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on April 25, 2010. A pair of the birds is taking care of eggs in the island city that could herald the birth of the country's first wild-born ibis in 36 years.

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Japanese crested ibis

SADO, Japan - A crested ibis, an endangered species with the scientific name Nipponia nippon, flies in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on April 24, 2010. The bird is one of a pair taking care of eggs that could herald the birth of the country's first wild-born ibis in 36 years.

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10 artificially bred crested ibises released into wild in Japan

SADO, Japan - One of 10 artificially bred crested ibises takes to the air after being released into rice paddies in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on Sept. 25.

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10 artificially bred crested ibises released into wild in Japan

SADO, Japan - Prince Akishino (L) and his wife Princess Kiko (R) release artificially bred crested ibises into rice paddies in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on Sept. 25. With the release of 10 artificially bred birds, crested ibises returned to the wild for the first time in 27 years in Japan.

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Jenkins attending driving school to get license

TOKYO, Japan - Charles Jenkins (L), the 65-year-old husband of repatriated Japanese abductee Hitomi Soga, practices driving at a driving school in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward on Oct. 19. Jenkins, a former U.S. Army deserter to North Korea, is learning Japanese road signs by using English learning materials. He said he would like to go fishing in his wife's hometown Sado, Niigata, if he obtains a license. (Pool photo)

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Soga speaks ahead of anniversary of her return from N. Korea

SADO, Japan - Hitomi Soga, a repatriated Japanese victim of North Korean abduction, speaks at a news conference in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, July 15 ahead of the anniversary of her return to Japan on July 18, 2004, with her husband and two daughters.

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Jenkins family to leave for U.S.

SADO, Japan - Charles Jenkins (R), a former U.S. Army sergeant, and his wife Hitomi Soga (2nd from L), a former Japanese abductee repatriated from North Korea, leave Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on June 13 to visit the United States to meet Jenkins' mother for the first time in 40 years. Their two North Korea-born daughters will travel with the couple to North Carolina.

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Jenkins meets reporters in Sado

SADO, Japan - Former U.S. Army Sgt. Charles Jenkins, husband of repatriated abductee Hitomi Soga, speaks at a news conference in Soga's hometown on Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture, on Jan. 31. He met reporters alone for the first time since arriving in Japan in July in 2004.

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Soga relieved to be able to live with reunited family

SADO, Japan - Hitomi Soga, one of the five Japanese abducted to North Korea in 1978 and repatriated in 2002, said Dec. 17 she feels relieved that she is now able to live with her family. She aired the view at a press conference in Sado, Niigata Prefecture.

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(2)Jenkins, Soga, daughters visit ancestors' grave

SADO, Japan - Former U.S. Army Sgt. Charles Jenkins (R), his wife and former abductee Hitomi Soga (L), together with their North Korean-born daughters -- Mika (2nd from L) and Brinda (2nd from R) -- pray at the grave of Soga's ancestors at a temple in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on Dec. 10. (Pool photo)

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(3)Jenkins, Soga, daughters visit ancestors' grave

SADO, Japan - Former U.S. Army Sgt. Charles Jenkins (front) and his wife and former abductee Hitomi Soga (back), purify the grave of Soga's ancestors at a temple in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on Dec. 10. (Pool photo)

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Jenkins, Soga, daughters visit ancestors' grave

SADO, Japan - Former U.S. Army Sgt. Charles Jenkins (R), his wife and former abductee Hitomi Soga (3rd from R), together with their North Korean-born daughters -- Mika (2nd from R) and Brinda (L) -- head for the grave of Soga's ancestors at a temple in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on Dec. 10.

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Daughters of Jenkins and Soga register as residents of Sado

SADO, Japan - Hitomi Soga (R), former Japanese abductee and wife of former U.S. Army Sgt. Charles Jenkins, registers their two North Korean-born daughters -- Mika (C) and Brinda (L) -- as residents in her hometown of Sado, Niigata Prefecture on Dec. 10. (Pool photo)

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(5)Jenkins arrives in Niigata for new life with family

SADO, Japan - Charles Jenkins is moved to tears during a press conference after arriving in Sado with his Japanese wife Hitomi Soga (seated at right) and two daughters, Mika and Brinda, on Dec. 7. The former U.S. Army sergeant said he wants to live the rest of his life in Sado with his family.

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(4)Jenkins arrives in Niigata for new life with family

SADO, Japan - Charles Jenkins is moved to tears during a press conference after arriving in Sado with his Japanese wife Hitomi Soga (R) and two daughters, Mika and Brinda, on Dec. 7. The former U.S. Army sergeant said he wants to live the rest of his life in Sado with his family.

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(2)Jenkins arrives in Niigata for new life with family

SADO, Japan - Former U.S. sergeant Charles Jenkins, accompanied by his Japanese wife Hitomi Soga and two North Korean-born daughters, Mika and Brinda, is greeted by well-wishers on arrival in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on Dec. 7 to start a new life with his family in his wife's hometown.

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(1)Jenkins arrives in Niigata for new life with family

SADO, Japan - Charles Jenkins (2nd from L), a former U.S. Army sergeant released after being jailed for deserting to North Korea nearly 40 years ago, arrives in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on Dec. 7 with his Japanese wife Hitomi Soga (R) and their two daughters, Mika (2nd from R), 21, and Brinda (L), 19 to start a new life in his wife's hometown.

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Soga returns with daughters to hometown

SADO, Japan - The North Korean-born daughters, Mika (L) and Belinda (C), of repatriated abductee Hitomi Soga, visit their mother's hometown of Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on Aug. 23. Soga returned home with her daughters as her father Shigeru has been hospitalized for poor health.

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Soga happy over proposed reunion with family in Indonesia

SADO, Japan - Former Japanese abductee Hitomi Soga smiles outside the Sado city government's Mano branch in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on July 2, a day after Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi and North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun agreed in Jakarta to arrange a reunion in Indonesia with members of her family living in North Korea.

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(1)Gov't gets Soga's understanding on candidate reunion sites

SADO, Japan - Hitomi Soga (L), a repatriated victim of abduction by North Korea, shakes hands with Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiken Sugiura (R) in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on May 30. Sugiura visited Sado for talks with Soga about candidate sites for her to meet her American husband and two daughters living in North Korea.

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(2)Gov't gets Soga's understanding on candidate reunion sites

SADO, Japan - Hitomi Soga (L, back), a repatriated victim of abduction by North Korea, meets Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiken Sugiura (L, front) and Cabinet Secretariat special adviser Kyoko Nakayama (2nd from L, front) in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on May 30. Sugiura and Nakayama visited Sado to discuss candidate sites for her to meet her American husband and two daughters living in North Korea. (Pool photo)

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Soga helps doctor during vaccination

MANO, Japan - Hitomi Soga (C), a repatriated Japanese abductee, helps a doctor vaccinate a baby in Sado, Niigaga Prefecture, on May 27.

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N. Korean abduction victim

Hitomi Soga, a former Japanese abductee to North Korea, speaks at a press conference in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on Oct. 17, 2022. She was repatriated to Japan in October 2002 along with four other Japanese abduction victims of North Korea.

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N. Korean abduction victim

Hitomi Soga, a former Japanese abductee to North Korea, speaks at a press conference in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on Oct. 17, 2022. She was repatriated to Japan in October 2002 along with four other Japanese abduction victims of North Korea.