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On June 5, the Prime Minister held a press conference in Tokyo.

On the passing of Mr. YOKOTA Shigeru, the Prime Minister said,

“It is truly regrettable. I extend my sincere condolences on the passing of Mr. YOKOTA Shigeru, and I extend my heartfelt sympathy to [his wife] Sakie and his bereaved family members.

Together with Shigeru, we have fought for truly a long period of time to bring about the return to Japan of Megumi and all the abductees. On October 15, 2002, when five abductees returned to Japan, I went to meet them at Haneda Airport, as Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary. Mr. Yokota Shigeru was there along with Sakie, as the representative of the Association of the Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea. From his sense of responsibility as the Chair, he was taking photographs to capture the occasion. I remember even now that tears were streaming from Shigeru’s eyes as he took photos of that scene, as the abductees who returned to Japan embraced their family members and relished their joy. I strongly felt how terribly unfortunate and frustrating it must have been that Megumi was not there.

I have done my very best until today with the aim of bringing about the day when Shigeru, together with Sakie, would hug Megumi tightly with their own hands. It is genuinely heart-wrenching that as Prime Minister I have not yet achieved this, and my heart is filled with regret. I have renewed my determination to act decisively and seize every possible opportunity in order to realize the return of Megumi and all the abductees to their hometowns, their repatriation to Japan. I would like to express once more my heartfelt sympathies on Shigeru’s passing.”

 And, the Prime Minister also said,

“For more than 25 years, from the days when the world at large still didn’t sufficiently recognize the situation, Shigeru, along with others in the Association of the Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea, worked hard to collect signatures, even in intense heat or bitter chill, to somehow get the abductees to return to Japan. As I have watched him make those efforts over so many years, his passing grieves me very deeply.

While various difficulties do exist, I intend for the government, for Japan, to act decisively and make it happen, seizing upon any sort of movement, and taking every possible opportunity, in order to realize the return of the abductees at any cost.”