North Korea Abductee Megumi Yokota’s Mother Calls for Daughter’s Return as She Turns 60

The Yomiuri Shimbun

6:00 JST, October 5, 2024

Sakie Yokota, 88, has renewed her call for the return of her daughter Megumi, who was abducted by North Korean agents, as she turns 60 on Saturday.

“If she comes back, I want to hug her without saying anything. I just want her to live in good health,” Sakie said at a press conference in Kawasaki on Thursday.

Megumi was kidnapped in 1977 in Niigata Prefecture during her first year of junior high school on her way home from school. Even after Megumi disappeared, Sakie prepared a birthday cake for her every year. She plans to buy another this year too, but she revealed her painful emotions, saying, “I feel empty.” Every day, Sakie sees the photo of Megumi displayed in her home.

During the press conference, Sakie showed a tiny, dark green vase that Megumi had bought for her as a souvenir when she visited Hagi, Yamaguchi Prefecture, while she was in elementary school. According to Sakie, when Megumi gave the vase to her, Megumi said, “I think this color is beautiful.”

“I was glad that she knew what I liked and was so considerate,” Sakie said.

The parents of the abductees are aging. “First, I want the leaders [of Japan and North Korea] to look each other in the eye and talk,” she said. “I want North Korea to return everyone home, in whatever form. I don’t know how many more years I’ll live.”