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August 14, 2026
 

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ABDUCTIONS

Tatsuru Murao (right), secretary-general of the Investigation Commission on Missing Japanese Probably Related to North Korea, records the Shiokaze shortwave radio program in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward on June 15.
JAPAN
Jul 27, 2026
Concerns increasing over radio for abductees in North Korea
Messages for abductees are typically broadcast every night, but aging equipment, a dwindling need for the transmitters, and Middle East tensions threaten the effort.
Manga artist Akiko Tomita speaks at an event on her work depicting North Korea's abductions of Japanese nationals, in the city of Musashino in western Tokyo on April 10.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 11, 2026
Manga on North Korean abductions published amid little progress over issue
The work, which mixes fiction with facts and actual tactics used by North Korea to kidnap Japanese nationals, seeks to draw attention to the decades-old issue.
Sakie Yokota (center, back), mother of North Korean abductee Megumi Yokota, and others attend a rally held in Tokyo on Saturday that called for the immediate return of Japanese people abducted by North Korea.
JAPAN
May 31, 2026
Tokyo rally urges return of all Japanese abductees held in North Korea
Relatives of those abducted to North Korea decades ago expressed hopes for the return of abductees immediately and while their parents are still alive.
Sakie Yokota, whose daughter Megumi was abducted in 1977 by North Korea, speaks, as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi listens at a rally in Tokyo on Saturday to seek the immediate return of all Japanese abductees by North Korea.
JAPAN / Politics
May 31, 2026
Takaichi asks North Korea for summit to solve abduction issue
After taking office last October, the Japanese prime minister has been repeatedly expressing her willingness to resolve the issue.
U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un cross the Military Demarcation Line that divides North and South Korea after Trump briefly stepped over to the northern side on June 30, 2019.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 1, 2026
Takaichi, Trump and Japan-North Korea relations
North Korea has given no space for engagement on the issues most relevant to Japan ¡ª that is, the abductee issue and denuclearization.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meets with members of groups related to those who have been abducted by North Korea, at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 17, 2026
Takaichi reiterates willingness to meet with North Korean leader
The prime minister is aiming to resolve the issue of Japanese nationals abducted to the reclusive country decades ago.
The Japanese government has recognized 17 Japanese individuals as abducted by North Korea, but police have not ruled out abductions for 871 people who are currently unaccounted for.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2026
Aging families of possible North Korea abductees seek wider support
Activities relying solely on family members are nearing their limits, say people involved in efforts to rescue possible abduction victims.
Sakie Yokota (fourth from left) and former classmates of her daughter, Megumi, hand a list of signatures to Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara (third from right) at the Prime Minister's Office on Jan. 19.
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2026
90-year-old mother of abductee laments lack of progress on securing return
Sakie Yokota has not seen her daughter, Megumi, since her 1977 abduction at the age of 13 in the city of Niigata on her way home from junior high school.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara (third from right) receives signatures and a message from Masaki Ikeda (fourth from right), who heads a group of former classmates of Megumi Yokota, at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday. Fourth from left is Megumi's mother, Sakie Yokota,
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 20, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ top government spokesman meets Sakie Yokota, mother of abductee Megumi
In the meeting, Sakie said she hopes there will be some progress this year on the issue of repatriating Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara (center) visits the site in the city of Niigata last month where Megumi Yokota was abducted in 1977 when she was 13 years old.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 14, 2025
Japan government vows all-out push to resolve North Korea¡¯s abductions
Under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, ¡°I would exhaust every possible means to secure a resolution,¡± Kihara said. ¡°I intend to be the last minister responsible for this issue.¡±
A U.N. Human Rights Council has added 12 missing Japanese individuals, not officially recognized as North Korean abduction victims, to a list urging Pyongyang to confirm their safety, sources say.
JAPAN
Nov 16, 2025
U.N. adds 12 more Japanese people to North Korea abduction list
The Human Rights Council working group on enforced disappearances compiled a list of about 40 people.
Sakie Yokota (center) and Takuya Yokota (left) at a news conference after meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Tokyo last month
JAPAN
Nov 16, 2025
After 48 years, families of Japanese abductees still waiting for progress
Progress on the abduction issue has stalled since the early 2000s, when some abductees returned to Japan under then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
Sakie Yokota, 89, speaks to reporters in Kawasaki on Tuesday. "Why can't such an important matter be resolved? I'm stunned," she said.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2025
After decades of waiting, mother fears she may never see her abducted daughter returned
Megumi Yokota was taken by North Korea in 1977. Her 89-year-old mother is still waiting for her return, but says she is ¡°completely exhausted now.¡±
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Saturday. Takaichi said she is prepared to ¡°act boldly¡± to create a breakthrough and resolve the abductions issue with North Korea ¡°without ruling out any options.¡±
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 3, 2025
Takaichi says she told North Korea of desire for summit with Kim
The new Japanese leader¡¯s remarks echo those of her predecessors and come as time runs out for families of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang decades ago.
A banner calling for the resolution of the issue of abductions by North Korea is displayed near the Diet building in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, on June 10.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2025
Families of Japanese abductees race against time
Negotiations between Japan and North Korea have remained at a standstill since October 2002, when five victims were repatriated.
Sakie Yokota, mother of a North Korean abduction victim, said she feels "great loneliness" after the death of her husband, whom she described as a "serious person."
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2025
Mother of North Korean abductee urges government to have sense of mission over issue
Her husband, Shigeru, died in 2020 at the age of 87 without being able to see his abducted daughter again.
Sakie Yokota (center) and other family members of Japanese nationals abducted to North Korea held a national rally in Tokyo on Saturday to demand the immediate return of all abductees.
JAPAN
May 25, 2025
Families demand North Korea return all Japanese abductees
The rally, organized mainly by the family group and an organization supporting such families, brought together about 800 people, including lawmakers.
Takuya Yokota speaks during a news conference in Washington on Wednesday.
JAPAN
May 5, 2025
Relatives urge North Korea to release abductees
The news conference was held after members of the association returned from a trip to the United States.
A group of families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea decades ago and a group of Japanese lawmakers tackling the abduction issue at a news conference in Washington on Tuesday
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2025
Families of abductees in North Korea meet with U.S. official
¡°We reiterated that there is not much time left for the generation of the abductees¡¯ parents,¡± said Takuya Yokota, head of the family group.
Takuya Yokota, the leader of a group of families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea decades ago (left), asks people for signatures to seek their return during a campaign held in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2025
Family members of North Korea abductees hold Tokyo campaign to seek their return
Meanwhile, in Washington, 17 members of U.S. Congress sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to ¡°prioritize¡± the return of the Japanese abductees.
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Kingo Wakasa photographs the kamikaze plane wing section he discovered at the USS Emmons wreck site.
New ¡®Katsu Curry Index¡¯ aims to show how weak the yen really is
A CoCo Ichibanya curry house in Tokyo.
Mexican man arrested over attempt to smuggle some 200 lizards into Japan
Mexican alligator lizards seized by Tokyo Customs from a Mexican man who attempted to smuggle them into Japan on Saturday through Haneda Airport
Gut bacteria may be behind many of Â鶹´«Ã½ colorectal cancer cases
A Japanese research team found that a toxin produced by certain E. coli strains, colibactin, caused genetic mutations in nearly half of colorectal cancer cases studied
She is Russia¡¯s richest woman. Her business empire is going up in flames.
Tatyana Kim, the head and co-founder of Wildberries, speaks about Ukrainian drone attacks on the company's warehouses in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, at an unidentified location, in this still image from a handout video released on July 31.
Forty-five meters down, a diver races to record a fleeting moment of WWII history
Kingo Wakasa photographs the kamikaze plane wing section he discovered at the USS Emmons wreck site.
Ikarigata closer to emulating older brother Fujinokawa than many think
The future Fujinokawa (third from left) and Ikarigata (right) compete against each other at ages 5 and 3, respectively.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.

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Longform

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