Ishiba Meets Former N. Korea Abductee, Vows Resolution; Chimura Notes Time Pressure as Surviving Abductees Age

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:14 JST, March 20, 2025

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met with Yasushi Chimura, 69, who was abducted by North Korea in 1978, and vowed Wednesday to find a resolution to the abduction issue.

“The government will do its utmost to resolve the issue, fully recognizing that there is no time to lose, based on the understanding that [the abductions] are an infringement on national sovereignty,” Ishiba said during the meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office.

Chimura was kidnapped in 1978 from his hometown of Obama in Fukui Prefecture, along with his now wife Fukie. The couple returned to Japan in October 2002 with three other abductees, following a Japan-North Korea summit held the month before.

“Not only the families of the abductees but also the abductees themselves are aging. I would like the Japanese government to take the lead in making efforts toward an early resolution,” said Chimura, who was 47 when he returned to Japan.