Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi responds to questions from reporters on the morning of October 22 following North Korea's latest missile launch (©Sankei by Ataru Haruna)
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi vowed to pursue "simultaneous return of all abductees through all possible means" in debates ahead of the recent Liberal Democratic Party leadership election.
Now, as Prime Minister, she has an opportunity to translate her words into meaningful action.
Although Takaichi has just taken office, she faces a series of major events almost immediately. First, she held a meeting with the Association of Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea on October 23. Then, early the following week, she has a summit meeting with United States President Donald Trump.
Former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba never formed close ties with the families' association. They strongly opposed his proposal that Japan and North Korea set up liaison offices in each other's respective capitals. Such an arrangement, they explained, "would only be used to stall" resolution of the issue.
Notably, any discord between the Japanese government and the abductees' families would only please North Korea. Therefore, the most urgent task is to repair relations between the government and the families while they jointly send a strong message both domestically and internationally.
Next, Takaichi can use her summit meeting with Trump to reinvigorate his involvement in the abductions issue. American pressure is essential to overcome the current impasse.
Trump's Important Help to Abe
Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi traveled to Pyongyang in September 2002, which led to the return of the five abduction victims. However, intense pressure on North Korea from the administration of then-US President George W Bush is what made it possible. That history certainly has a lesson to teach us.
For Prime Minister Takaichi, the actions of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, her mentor, are also instructive in this respect.
During his first term, Trump shed tears during the multiple meetings he had with abductee family members. Expressing passion, he brought the issue to the United Nations.
In two historic US-North Korea summits, he also urged his counterpart, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, to resolve the abduction issue with Japan. When asked why he had mentioned the abductions, Trump then replied, "Because it's Prime Minister [Shinzo] Abe's number one priority."
Over and over again, the Abe administration and victims' families worked together to appeal to Mr Trump's sense of compassion and reason. That helped motivate the US President to help.
Little Time Left
Since then, parents of the abduction victims have passed away one after another while carrying on their long and excruciating fight to bring home their kidnapped children. Meanwhile, the only surviving member of the parents' generation is Megumi Yokota's mother, Sakie. She is now 89 years old. Sadly, there is only a brief window of time left for the parents and their children to be reunited.
Kim Jong Un has signaled interest in a dialogue with the United States, saying, "I personally have fond memories of Trump." Prime Minister Takaichi must now do whatever it takes to draw the President's attention to the abductions.
Mr Trump may be persuaded. He has not forgotten the advice of his good friend, Shinzo Abe. Moreover, mediating the abduction issue would be a major plus for him in his quest for Nobel Peace Prize committee recognition of his global work in ending conflicts.
Prime Minister Takaichi, we urge you to do everything possible to solve the abductions issue by all means available.
Follow the abductions issue on JAPAN Forward.
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- Megumi's Mother Speaks: A Long Battle for Justice and Hope
(Read the editorial in Japanese.)
Author: Editorial Board, The Sankei Shimbun
