Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (left) meets relatives of Japanese nationals possibly abducted by North Korea at the Prime Minister’s office on Monday.
13:36 JST, May 21, 2024
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi met with relatives of those possibly abducted by North Korea and promised the speedy return of all Japanese abductees.
During the meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday, Hayashi, who is also the minister responsible for the kidnapping issue, met with a group of relatives of “specified missing persons” – Japanese nationals who may have been kidnapped by North Korea. .
“Regardless of whether they are officially recognized [by the government as abductees]we will work resolutely and with all our strength to achieve the earliest possible return of all abductees,” Hayashi said.
Hideki Imai, 81, head of the group and older brother of Yutaka Imai, who went missing in 1969 at the age of 18 in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, presented Hayashi with a petition calling for the speedy return of those who may be kidnapped. “We would like them to be recognized immediately [by the government as abductees],” he said.
