Meeting with Families of Abductees and Others

On May 22, 2025, Prime Minister Ishiba held a meeting with families of abductees and others at the Prime Minister’s Office.

The Prime Minister stated in his address:

“Thank you very much for visiting the United States on a tight schedule. As Mr. Yokota just said, it is now only Ms. YOKOTA Sakie who remains alive [as a parent of an abductee]. Needless to say, it is important for her to live long, and our Cabinet, including Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi, who is present today as the minister in charge of the issue, will take government-wide measures to ensure that Ms. Yokota can rejoice while still in good health.

The President of Hungary will visit us later. Yesterday, we received the President of Paraguay. As you all may know, the president and all the ministers accompanying him wore blue-ribbon badges, a scene I had never seen before. No other country has done so. Though young, at only 43, the president mentioned the abductions issue. Today I intend to take up the issue in a meeting with Hungary as well. With National Day events taking place at the Expo, presidents and prime ministers visit us almost every day, and most of them bring up the abductions issue. I doubt there has ever been a time when virtually every visiting foreign leader recognizes this issue facing Japan and expresses their intention to help as much as they can. It goes without saying that we will use the Expo as an opportunity to help the world better understand the issue.

Back when I started to engage in the abductions issue during the Koizumi administration, Mr. Furuya, Mr. Eto, and I worked together to translate related materials—not only into English, of course, but also into German, French, and languages of various other countries—and divided up the task of venturing abroad and raising the issue globally. I now again recognize the importance of making worldwide efforts to ensure the resolution of the issue and gaining the understanding of the international community—although, of course, Japan must ultimately settle the issue because it concerns the country’s sovereignty. From that perspective, I believe your latest visit to the United States holds great significance. I appreciate your continued support and cooperation.”