Ex-Japanese Abductees Express Grief 40 Yrs after Their Abductions

July 8, 2018

Fukui- Former Japanese abductees Yasushi Chimura and his wife, Fukie, both 63, expressed their grief on Saturday, 40 years after they were kidnapped to North Korea.

"We cannot regret enough that the abductions deprived us of our freedom and made it impossible to spend the most precious time of our lives in Japan," according to their comment released through the municipal government of Obama, Fukui Prefecture, central Japan.

On the night of July 7, 1978, the couple was abducted by four North Korean agents when visiting a park in the city to watch stars on the day of the tanabata star festival.

The couple were forced to live in the reclusive country for 24 years until they came back to Japan in October 2002 along with three other victims.

"There's no way we can get back our precious time, the lost 24 years," said the couple. "We still feel strong resentment against the atrocious practice of abduction."

Noting that 12 other abductees are still kept away from their home country, the couple said, "We can never feel truly happy until the abduction issue is completely resolved."

As abduction victims and their families are getting old, there is no time to spare to resolve the issue, the couple said.

"We strongly hope that negotiations will resume between Japan and North Korea as soon as possible and that all remaining Japanese abductees can return home," the couple added. Jiji Press