MegumiYokota Turns 60 Family Renews Calls for Her Rescue

作者智能小编

10 月 6, 2024 #abduction, #NHK日本-国际, #NorthKorea

Megumi Yokota Turns 60: Family Renews Calls for Her Returnfrom North Korea

Tokyo, Japan – On October 5th,Megumi Yokota, a Japanese citizen abducted by North Korea 47 years ago, turned 60 years old. Her family, along with supporters,held a rally in Tokyo’s Bunkyo Ward on the eve of her birthday, renewing their calls for her return and the repatriation of all abduction victims.

Yokota, a first-year junior high school student in Niigata City, was abducted on her way home from school in 1977. Her mother, Sakie Yokota, now 88 years old, spoke at the rally, expressing the profound pain and anguish of a mother who has been separated from her daughter for nearly half a century.

Forty-seven years is an unfathomable length of time, a lifetime, she said. My daughterdid nothing wrong, yet she was taken away by North Korea and has not returned home. It’s been an unimaginable amount of time.

Sakie Yokota emphasized the urgency of bringing all abduction victims home, urging the Japanese government to prioritize their rescue.

Megumi’s brother, Takuya Yokota, who also serves as the representative of the Association of Families of Abducted by North Korea, echoed his mother’s plea. He linked the establishment of liaison offices in Tokyo and Pyongyang, as proposed by former Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election, to the potential for progress inthe abduction issue.

In North Korea, the abduction victims are under strict control, Takuya Yokota stated. Establishing liaison offices is crucial, given North Korea’s claim of not knowing the whereabouts of these victims, which is a blatant lie.

The Yokota family’s unwavering pursuit of justice forMegumi and other abduction victims continues to resonate with the Japanese public. Their story serves as a powerful reminder of the human cost of North Korea’s abductions and the enduring hope for their return.

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