Dear Megumi: ‘Be Brave and Hopeful. I Will Find You’

Abducted: The Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea, Special Reports January 17, 2018January 17, 2018 Shigeru and Sakie Yokota 0 Comments

Megumi and Sakie in 1966.   Dear Megumi,   The new year has finally come. Despite our desperate pleas with the government for the rescue of all abductees by the end of the year, another year has passed without any progress, and it has left me heartbroken.   As the world enters a chaotic season, […]

Dear Megumi: President Trump Listened to Your Story, and That Gives Us Hope

Abducted: The Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea, Special Reports November 21, 2017November 21, 2017 Shigeru and Sakie Yokota 0 Comments

Megumi Yokota, 2nd from the left watches the Sea of Japan in 1976. Next year she was abducted by North Korean agents.   Hello, Megumi.     The time of year in Japan when the leaves change colors has passed. We feel the cold more and more each day.  You really loved nature. We want […]

Don’t Lose Interest in Rescuing Japanese Abductees. That’s What North Korea Wants

Abducted: The Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea, Special Reports November 1, 2017November 2, 2017 Sankei Shimbun 0 Comments

Abducted and missing people’s photo list   “There is absolutely no sense of urgency. The Parliament isn’t even discussing how to rescue victims.†  In the afternoon of December 9, 2016, Teruaki Masumoto, brother of a  kidnapping victim, made this comment at a seminar after listening to parliamentarians making speeches regarding the abduction issue at […]

Decades After Abduction, Why Can’t Japan Tap Maritime Self-Defense Force to Rescue Victims?

Abducted: The Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea, Special Reports November 1, 2017November 1, 2017 Sankei Shimbun 0 Comments

  It was March 24, 1999, at 12:50 AM. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force-guided missile-destroyer Myoko was in pursuit of an unidentified vessel off the Noto Peninsula when the Prime Minister’s official residence issued the first ever order for a “Maritime Security Operation.†    First Lieutenant Sukeyasu Ito, the captain of Myoko at the […]

40 Years After Abductions, North Korean Espionage Continues Inside and Outside Japan

Abducted: The Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea, Special Reports October 30, 2017October 31, 2017 Sankei Shimbun 1 Comment

  United States President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania will visit Japan November 5-7. On the 6th, President Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will hold a US-Japan Summit and meet with the family of Megumi Yokota, a victim of North Korean abduction. Trump’s visit to Japan amid increasing tension in the region is […]

Dear Megumi: The Fifth Abductee Was Released, but I Am Still Waiting for You to Return Home

Abducted: The Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea, Special Reports October 25, 2017October 30, 2017 Shigeru and Sakie Yokota 0 Comments

Sakie Yokota walks with her children. Megumi (right) was with family 42 years ago.    Dear Megumi,   It’s autumn, the season when the clear sky seems so distant and nature transforms into a beautiful deep green in Japan. At times I almost lose hope, but the support from all those who have sworn to […]

Dear Megumi: One Day, You and Other Kidnap Victims Will Set Foot on Japan Again—If Our Gov’t Works For It

Abducted: The Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea, Special Reports September 22, 2017 Shigeru and Sakie Yokota 0 Comments

  Dear Megumi,   In Japan, we are blessed with beautiful autumn skies, and the cosmos flowers are blooming. Our home in Niigata had beautiful cosmos, didn’t it? They remind us of you more. Despite being a cheerful child, fond of flowers, with a love for “freedom,†you were captured by the country where freedom […]

Letter to Megumi: We hope you’ll return to the Japanese Summer and Your Mother’s Stew

Abducted: The Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea, Special Reports August 14, 2017November 1, 2017 Shigeru and Sakie Yokota 0 Comments

Megumi(center) had happy time travelling to Hiroshima with her parents Shigeru and Sakie Yokota, and her little brothers Takuya and Tetsuya.     Hello, Megumi.   Summer has come in Japan. It is greener and greener by the day. Your favorite flowers are in bloom all over.   Megumi, we remember you with such fondness! […]