Meeting with Families of Abductees and Others

On February 20, 2025, Prime Minister Ishiba held a meeting with families of abductees and others at the Prime Minister’s Office.

The Prime Minister said in his address:

“Thank you very much for coming all the way here out of your busy schedule. Mr. ARIMOTO Akihiro passed away the other day. I talked with him in November last year and just recently had a phone conversation as well. While it is hard to believe, I am truly saddened by his passing. I would like to express my heartfelt condolences and extend my sincere sympathies to his bereaved family members.

We have just received an action policy, and with regard to its content, we take seriously the extremely urgent wishes of the families and members of the National Association for the Rescue (of Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea (NARKN)) for the immediate return of the abductees to Japan. The Government finds it truly regrettable that we have been unable to realize their return yet.

I recently held a meeting with President Trump, where I gained full support from the President for the resolution of the abduction issue. With Ms. YOKOTA Sakie, Mr. Arimoto, and other family members of advanced age in mind, I explained the current situation to him, showing the photo of your previous meeting with him. The President also asked me how the family members were faring. As there may be negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea in the future, I inferred the President’s strong intention for them. As such, we agreed that he would make sure to raise this issue in the negotiations.

It has been five months since I assumed this post, and there is not much time left. I am well aware of that. When then-Prime Minister Koizumi returned from his visit to North Korea, I was also present [at the briefing session] as the chairperson of the parliamentary group on the abduction issue. For the rest of my life, I will never forget how Ms. Yokota cried out, ‘Megumi is alive.’

I keenly recognize that the leaders must meet and guide the issue toward resolution. I have such strong determination. As I have often stated, I firmly believe that this issue is not mere kidnapping cases, and that the fact that our fellow citizens abducted by another state have been unable to return home yet constitutes a violation of state sovereignty. I have always said this since before I became Prime Minister. As this is an infringement of national sovereignty, we must explore every possibility as a state and as a government. Taking the feelings of the family members to heart, I reiterate my intention to take every possible means to solve the issue, while sharing the determination that Prime Minister Abe, his predecessor Prime Minister Koizumi, Prime Minister Suga, Prime Minister Kishida, and other successive administrations harbored. We are facing North Korea, and I remember in its previous meetings with President Trump, Pyongyang sought a security guarantee for its regime, which would pose a tremendous difficulty to Japan.

We must simultaneously consider how Japan will resolve the abduction issue and deal with that kind of regime going forward. And since I received full support from President Trump, this is an issue for Japan. We must solve the issue as a country; it is not something to be resolved by any other country. When I started to work on the issue, the parliamentary group of the abduction issue had relevant documents translated not only into English of course, but also into Chinese, German, French, and languages of various other countries, and made sure that Diet members of our party and our allied party paying official visits overseas would take the translations with them and raise the issue.

While public support is also necessary, we must not let this issue fade away over the course of time – although I do not really like the phrase ‘fade away.’ On the contrary, I strongly believe that the more time passes, the more active – rather than the less – we must be in raising awareness among the public.

We will listen to various views of yours today and will make the most out of them going forward. The Government, for its part, will do its utmost to resolve the issue by all means. I look forward to the meeting. That is all from me.”