Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Meets with Mother, Former Classmates of Megumi Yokota; Both Call for Greater Effort to Get Megumi Back in Japan

The Yomiuri Shimbun

2:00 JST, January 12, 2025

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi met with Sakie Yokota, the mother of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted by North Korea at the age of 13, and Megumi’s former classmates at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo on Friday.

Masaki Ikeda, 60, the representative of Megumi’s former classmates, handed Hayashi a petition calling for Megumi to be quickly returned to Japan. The petition had received 21,538 signatures collected at events and online.

“I hope we will be able to see a result that enables [Sakie and Megumi] to embrace each other as soon as possible,” he said.

At the meeting, Sakie expressed her hope for greater effort by the government to realize her daughter’s return. “I don’t see any sign of progress, not even a little,” she said. “Don’t let any chances go by.”

In response, Hayashi, who also serves as minister in charge of the abduction issue, said, “I’m going to do my best while bearing in mind that the parents of the victims are getting older.”