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On February 14, 2020, the Prime Minister held a meeting with families of abductees and others at the Prime Minister’s Office.
 
The Prime Minister said in his address,
 
“First and foremost, Ms. ARIMOTO Kayoko recently passed away and I would like to offer prayers for the repose of her soul. I also want to express my condolences to her family, including Mr. Arimoto. It is regrettable.
 
Mr. and Ms. ARIMOTO Kayoko, were acquaintances of mine from the time that I served as the secretary for my father, ABE Shintaro. We had been fighting together on this issue ever since they first came to consult my father about it.
 
Many family members of the abductees have already passed away. I again feel that we must resolve this matter as early as possible.
 
Ever since the beginning of the process under the U.S.-North Korea agreement, Japan has been supporting the United States so that the progress under the U.S.-North Korea agreement is made. Concerning that, I asked President Trump to convey my position regarding the abductions issue to Chairman Kim Jong-Un; I also asked President Xi Jingping and President Moon Jae-in to convey Japan’s position on the resolution of this issue to Chairman Kim.
 
While international collaboration is indispensable so as to resolve this issue, it is fundamentally Japan’s issue and therefore it must proactively work on towards the resolution. Under such premise, I want to exert every effort to resolve this issue without missing any single opportunity. I intend to meet face-to-face with Chairman Kim Jong-Un without attaching any conditions.
 
I intend to continue to exert every effort to resolve this issue, using every possible means. In this opportunity, I would like to listen to the views, the policies moving forward of the families. I intend to exert every effort thoroughly to resolve this issue, taking them into consideration, in particular, I want to find a way forward towards the negotiations.”