Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi urges North Korea for Summit; Hoping to Resolve Abduction Issue

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:18 JST, June 28, 2024

Japan will keep urging North Korea to hold a summit between Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Thursday.

Hayashi, who also serves as the minister in charge of the abduction issue, attended an online U.N. symposium on the abduction issue by North Korea. He referred to the current situation, with no Japanese abductees having been returned since 2002, as deeply regrettable, saying, “Now is the time to boldly change the situation.”

The symposium was co-hosted by Japan, the United States, Australia, South Korea and the European Union. Takuya Yokota, head of the Association of Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea whose sister Megumi was abducted at the age of 13, said, “There can be no bright future for the two countries [Japan and North Korea] without resolving the abduction issue.”