EXCLUSIVE | Letter From Bipartisan US Lawmakers Calls for Resolution of the Abductions

[Washington] It has been learned that bipartisan members of the United States Congress have sent a letter to US President Donald Trump. In the letter, the 17 members of Congress urge the President to prioritize policies aimed at the return of Japanese victims abducted by North Korea.

The full text of the letter to the President of the United States follows:

*Map illustrating the location of victims abducted by North Korea from Japan*

'An Important Humanitarian Issue'

April 4, 2025
The President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr President:

We write to raise for your attention and action a critical humanitarian issue in the relations between the United States, Japan, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea). Decades ago, North Korea abducted at least 17 Japanese citizens, some of whom continue to be in North Korean custody to this day. As your administration works to develop and implement your North Korea policy and reengage with the North Korean government, we respectfully urge you to work closely with our Japanese allies to once again prioritize the return of these abductees, whose families wait anxiously for their return each day.

Beginning in the 1970s, North Korea abducted at least 17 Japanese citizens, although there are many other cases in which abduction cannot be ruled out. After decades of denial, North Korea finally admitted to the abductions in 2002 but has returned just five of the abductees to Japan. One confirmed abductee who remains in North Korean custody and whose fate remains unknown, Megumi Yokota, was 13 years old when she was abducted in 1977. Her mother, Sakie, is 89 years old and has waited to reunite with her daughter for 47 years. Sakie is the only parent of the remaining abductees who is still alive today.

'If Successful, It Will Be Historic.'

During your first administration, you raised this issue to international attention when you raised Megumi’s case in your address to the United Nations General Assembly in 2017. You further met with the families of Japanese abductees on two occasions, in 2017 and 2019. Last [118th] Congress, resolutions in both the House of Representatives and the Senate were introduced calling on North Korea to release and return any remaining abductees or their remains and to provide restitution accordingly to the victims and their families.

*US President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also met with family members of Japanese abducted by North Korea in 2019. (©Reuters)*

As you craft and implement your administration’s North Korea policy, we believe that you have the unique opportunity to once again bring the plight of these Japanese abductees to global attention and make meaningful progress in delivering justice for them and their families.

We respectfully urge you to work with our Japanese allies in engaging with the North Korean government and securing the release and return of the remaining abductees. Your success in doing so would be a historic foreign policy achievement and bring long-awaited closure and justice for families that have waited far too long.